Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2023 Jul 17:1-9. doi: 10.1080/01612840.2023.2229438. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The undergraduate mental health nursing course may be an optimal time to cultivate students’ positive attitudes toward people living with a mental illness.
AIM: To determine the impact of an undergraduate mental health nursing course on students’ attitudes toward people living with a mental illness, depression, and schizophrenia.
METHOD: A quasi-experimental single-group pretest posttest study was conducted using a sample of undergraduate nursing students in New York City (N = 44). Self-reported measures of prejudice toward those living with a mental illness were collected at the beginning of a mental health nursing course and again at its conclusion.
RESULTS: A statistically significant decrease in prejudice scores was found concerning mental illness (p = .03, d = 0.23), depression (p = .01, d = 0.31), and schizophrenia (p = .013, d = 0.34). Subscale analysis revealed significant decreases in the fear/avoidance and unpredictability subscales. Yet no significant change was found in the subscales of authoritarianism and malevolence for any of the three conditions.
DISCUSSION: A mental health course led to a modest decrease in prejudice. However, certain facets of prejudice remain unchanged.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Major curricular reform is needed to optimize the impact of undergraduate nursing education.
PMID:37459622 | DOI:10.1080/01612840.2023.2229438
