RESUMO
PURPOSE: This study aimed to verify the relationship between human rights sensitivity, advocacy attitudes, and advocacy interventions for mentally disabled people in psychiatric nurses and nursing students. METHODS: This is a descriptive study. Using questionnaires, data were collected from 206 participants who were recruited from one mental health institute, one general hospital, and one university in S city. Data were analyzed by t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient using SPSS/WIN 22. RESULTS: The mean age was 33.8±12.89. The mean scores of human rights sensitivity, advocacy attitudes, and advocacy intervention was 37.7±18.09, 53.7±5.67, and 47.4±7.08, respectively. Human rights sensitivity correlated significantly with advocacy attitudes (r=.25, p=.020) and advocacy intervention (r=.17, p=.015). Also, there was a significant positive correlation between advocacy attitudes and advocacy intervention (r=.44, p<.001). CONCLUSION: These findings highlight that advocacy attitudes and advocacy interventions for mentally disabled people could be improved by increasing human rights sensitivity. Tailored education programs will be effective in the field of mental health care services to increase human rights sensitivity.