TY - JOUR
T1 - Nursing Students’ Attitudes Towards People Diagnosed with Mental Illness and Mental Health Nursing
T2 - An International Project from Europe and Australia
AU - Happell, Brenda
AU - Platania-Phung, Chris
AU - Bocking, Julia
AU - Scholz, Brett
AU - Horgan, Aine
AU - Manning, Fionnuala
AU - Doody, Rory
AU - Hals, Elisabeth
AU - Granerud, Arild
AU - Lahti, Mari
AU - Pullo, Jarmo
AU - Ellilä, Heikki
AU - Annaliina, Vatula
AU - van der Vaart, Kornelis Jan
AU - Allon, Jerry
AU - Griffin, Martha
AU - Russell, Siobhan
AU - MacGabhann, Liam
AU - Bjornsson, Einar
AU - Biering, Pall
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge and thank:Erasmus + for the funding which made this innovative project possible. the students who generously gave of their time to complete the questionnaires Ms. Nathasha Munasinge for her assistance with coordinating data collection from participating countries and for data entry for the Australian component staff who assisted with the distribution and collection of questionnaires and with data entry
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, © 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2018/10
Y1 - 2018/10
N2 - The stigma associated with a diagnosis of mental illness is well known yet has not reduced significantly in recent years. Health professionals, including nurses, have been found to share similar negative attitudes towards people with labelled with mental illness as the general public. The low uptake of mental health nursing as a career option reflects these stigmatised views and is generally regarded as one of the least popular areas of in which to establish a nursing career. The aim of the current project was to examine nursing students’ attitudes towards the concept of mental illness and mental health nursing across four European countries (Ireland, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands), and Australia, using the Opening Minds Scale and the Mental Health Nurse Education survey. The surveys were distributed to students prior to the commencement of the mental health theory component. Attitudes towards mental health nursing were generally favourable. Differences in opinion were evident in attitudes towards mental illness as a construct; with students from Australia and Ireland tending to have more positive attitudes than students from Finland, Norway and the Netherlands. The future quality of mental health services is dependent on attracting sufficient nurses with the desire, knowledge and attitudes to work in mental health settings. Understanding attitudes towards mental illness and mental health nursing is essential to achieving this aim.
AB - The stigma associated with a diagnosis of mental illness is well known yet has not reduced significantly in recent years. Health professionals, including nurses, have been found to share similar negative attitudes towards people with labelled with mental illness as the general public. The low uptake of mental health nursing as a career option reflects these stigmatised views and is generally regarded as one of the least popular areas of in which to establish a nursing career. The aim of the current project was to examine nursing students’ attitudes towards the concept of mental illness and mental health nursing across four European countries (Ireland, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands), and Australia, using the Opening Minds Scale and the Mental Health Nurse Education survey. The surveys were distributed to students prior to the commencement of the mental health theory component. Attitudes towards mental health nursing were generally favourable. Differences in opinion were evident in attitudes towards mental illness as a construct; with students from Australia and Ireland tending to have more positive attitudes than students from Finland, Norway and the Netherlands. The future quality of mental health services is dependent on attracting sufficient nurses with the desire, knowledge and attitudes to work in mental health settings. Understanding attitudes towards mental illness and mental health nursing is essential to achieving this aim.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Adult
KW - Attitude of Health Personnel
KW - Australia
KW - Career Choice
KW - Cross-Sectional Studies
KW - Europe
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Mental Disorders/nursing
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Psychiatric Nursing/education
KW - Social Stigma
KW - Students, Nursing/psychology
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
KW - Young Adult
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85055530906&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.mendeley.com/research/nursing-students-attitudes-towards-people-diagnosed-mental-illness-mental-health-nursing-internation
U2 - 10.1080/01612840.2018.1489921
DO - 10.1080/01612840.2018.1489921
M3 - Article
C2 - 30346220
AN - SCOPUS:85055530906
SN - 0161-2840
VL - 39
SP - 829
EP - 839
JO - Issues in Mental Health Nursing
JF - Issues in Mental Health Nursing
IS - 10
ER -