Attitude of Undergraduate Nursing Students towards Mental Illness

Lt Col Sindhu Gopal, Brig Punita A Sharma, N/C Athira R

Background :Health care professionals are not immune to social prejudices and surprisingly share the general public’s attitude attributed to people with mental illness. Recruitment and retention of mental health nurses is challenging. Undergraduate nursing students’ attitude towards mental health nursing may influence whether they choose to practice in this speciality upon graduation. Nursing students are future health manpower. Research related to nursing student’s attitudes towards mental illness is limited.

Objectives: The objective of the study was to assess the attitude of undergraduate nursing students towards mental illness of a selected nursing institution in an urban setting prior to their psychiatric clinical exposure.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the attitude of undergraduate nursing students towards mental illness prior to their clinical experience in psychiatric ward. Data was collected over a period of 02 week by administering a standardized attitude assessment scale. Attitude regarding mental illness was assessed and associated with demographic variables including age, type of family, religion, marital status of parent, family history of mental illness and previous knowledge regarding psychiatry.

Result: The study showed a highly negative attitude among undergraduate nursing students towards mental illness. The study showed that 33.34% undergraduate nursing students had more positive attitude and 66.66% were towards a higher negative attitude.                                            Conclusion: Within the limits of the study, the result assessed attitude of undergraduate nursing students towards mental illness prior to their psychiatric clinical experience.