Perception towards caring for the mentally ill is a vital element affecting both the well-being of mentally ill patients and the moral compass of the society. Positive attitude towards caring for the mentally ill promotes social inclusion whereas negative attitude disempowers the patient and leads to social exclusion. Thus, this study aimed to assess the perception and attitude of student Nurses towards the care of mentally ill patients, as well as factors influencing the student nurses’ attitude. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 110 student nurses at School of Psychiatric Nursing, Uselu, Edo state, Nigeria. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire developed by the researchers. The reliability of the instrument was conducted using Cronbach alpha which yielded a coefficient of 0.94. Data collected were analysed using frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation. The findings revealed that student nurses had negative perception (mean = 2.99 + 0.85) but positive attitude (mean = 3.18 + 0.86) towards the care of mentally ill patients. Also, findings showed the factors influencing the students’ attitude towards the care of mentally ill patients to include interest in taking care of patients with mental illness (87.7%), training and specialized skills required to take care of patients with mental illness (80.2%), and lack of social support (90.8%). It was recommended that consistent and frequent education programmes aimed at addressing the gaps in contemporary Nursing care for patients with mental illness should be implemented.
- KANIKWU | PHOEBE | NWAMAKA, | kanikwu.phoebe@edouniversity.edu.ng | +234, ORIGBO | FAITH | OGHENETEGA | @ | +234
- Perception: Attitude: Student Nurses: Mental Illness: Patients
- KANIKWU PHOEBE NWAMAKA ORIGBO FAITH OGHENETEGA
