A pilot comparative study of attitude of trainee nurses, nursing staff and trainee doctors towards the mentally ill patients.

ABSTRACT

Context The issue of stigma in mental illness has great practical and research implications. Health professionals including the nursing staff are important stakeholders in this issue. The issue of health professionals’ attitude towards people with mental illness has been controversial. Aims: The current study aims at comparison of the attitudes of the nursing students, nursing staff and trainee doctors towards mentally ill. Settings and design: The study was conducted at a tertiary level medical teaching and training institution with an attached hospital. Methods and Materials The survey was conducted among trainee nurses, nursing staff and trainee doctors in the institution. A total of seven trainee nurses, eighteen nursing staff (including four Psychiatric nursing staff) and forty nine trainee doctors were included in the study. The participants were asked to complete a self-rated Attribution Questionnaire-27 (AQ 27). Statistical Analysis: Analysis was carried out using SPSS ver 16.0. ANOVA with post-hoc analysis was carried out to find in-between group differences on the nine domains of AQ 27. Results: The four groups differed significantly on the different domains of AQ 27. Conclusion: The negative attributes towards the mentally ill persons tend to be high among the nursing trainee, nursing staff and trainee doctors. There is a need to address these issues in the training curricula of these professionals in order to improve the health care delivery to the mentally ill.