PSYCHIATRY POSTING AMONG NURSING STUDENTS: ATTITUDE TO MENTAL ILLNESS

Background: Attitude towards mental illness influence the nursing students’ choice to take up training and placement in psychiatry as a specialty. The aim of the study was to examine nursing students' attitudes towards mental illness in terms of aetiology, social relations with patients and self-disclosure regarding mental illness. Methods: This was a descriptive quasi-experimental study conducted among all the sixty nursing students attending a 6-week psychiatry posting at Federal Neuropsychiatry Hospital Kware, Sokoto State and Psychiatry unit of General Hospital Katsina, Northwest Nigeria in July 2018. Attitudes toward Mental Illness (ATMI), a self-administered questionnaire was given to the participants before and after six-week posting in psychiatry. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 23.  Results: After 6 weeks posting in psychiatry there was improvement in the participants’ positive attitude towards social relation in person with mental illness, willingness to self-disclosure regarding mental illness and etiology of mental illness compare to before the commencement of psychiatry posting. Majority (81%) reported that movies have negative influence on their attitude toward mental illness. Conclusion: The 6-week psychiatry posting has positive effects on nursing students' attitudes towards mental illness. Movies contribute negatively towards majority of the participants’ attitude to mental illness. Use of psychodrama is being suggested to educate people on the etiology and treatment of mental illness. This study provides evidence-based recommendation for mandatory psychiatry posting among other health workers under training and use of psychodrama to educate the public on mental illness.