Nursing Student Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions Towards People with Mental Illness

Kaitlyn Coleman*

School of Nursing, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506

Presentation Category: Health Sciences (Poster Presentation #114)

Student’s Major: Nursing

Stigma surrounding mental illness has a significant impact on patient care. Current data indicates that there is a pronounced shortage of nurses practicing in mental health. One possible explanation for this shortage is stigma. Stigma places further stain on the already-stressed mental health care system. The current literature suggests that stigmatizing attitudes among nurses exist during undergraduate education. However, further research is needed to show from where these attitudes originate. The purpose of this study is to measure attitudes and perceptions of stigma among nursing students. Understanding these concepts is the first step in developing interventions for decreasing stigma. We hypothesize that the findings will show that stigma decreases after students take the psychiatric nursing course. This implies that stigma is learned and can be unlearned through education. Decreasing mental health stigma would have a significant impact on nursing practice. Most notably, we could expect an increase in quality of care for mental health patients. Psychiatric patients are encountered in all areas of nursing practice. This extends the benefit of this research beyond psychiatric care settings. In conclusion, these findings have the potential to increase quality, empathetic care for patients suffering from mental illness.

Funding:

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: a WVU 497-level course, Honors EXCEL