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Nursing Students’ Attitudes and Intention to Work with Mentally Ill Patients Before and After a Planned Intervention

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Abstract

Objectives

The authors examined changes in attitudes and intention to work with mentally ill patients (treat, specialize, or work in the field) among nursing students after a planned intervention consisting of a mental health course.

Methods

Data were collected before and after a planned intervention. The nature of the intervention was educational, for third year undergraduate nursing students. The core intervention included lectures on mental illness, encounters with people coping with mental illness, simulations, and a film on coping with mental illness. Behavioral intention to work with mentally ill patients and three dimensions of nursing students’ attitudes (perceived functional characteristics, perceived danger, and value diminution of mentally ill patients) were measured before and after the intervention. The post-intervention impact of the intervention on participants’ attitudes and behavioral intention was measured.

Results

One hundred and one undergraduate third year nursing students studying at four nursing schools in Israel participated in the study. The planned intervention improved the students’ attitudes towards mentally ill patients but did not improve their intention of working with them. Post-intervention, older and less religious students had more intention to work with mentally ill patients. Moreover, older and Jewish students held better attitudes towards the functional characteristics of mentally ill patients. Being older was also correlated with the perception of mentally ill patients as less dangerous and male students ascribed to them more value diminution.

Conclusions

Students’ attitudes towards mentally ill patients and their behavioral intention to work in the psychiatry field should be addressed during the initial training and in continuing education. Teaching methods should include theoretical learning on multicultural mental health practice concurrently with clinical placements.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the students who participated in this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Michal Itzhaki & Sivia Barnoy

  2. Assaf Harofe School of Nursing, Beer Yaacov, Israel

    Orit Meridan

  3. The Academic College of Tel-Aviv-Yaffo, Yaffo, Israel

    Tammy Sagiv-Schifter

Authors
  1. Michal Itzhaki
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  2. Orit Meridan
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  3. Tammy Sagiv-Schifter
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  4. Sivia Barnoy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michal Itzhaki.

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Ethical Considerations

The study received the approval of the ethics committee of the university and of the heads of the four nursing schools. The students signed an informed consent form prior to completing the questionnaire.

Disclosures

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Cite this article

Itzhaki, M., Meridan, O., Sagiv-Schifter, T. et al. Nursing Students’ Attitudes and Intention to Work with Mentally Ill Patients Before and After a Planned Intervention. Acad Psychiatry 41, 337–344 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-016-0521-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-016-0521-3

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