A Study to Compare the Attitude towards Mental Illness among Nursing Students across the Successive Training years at Shri Anand Institute of Nursing, Rajkot, Gujarat

 

Ms.Pathan Shabnam. A¹, Mr. Jeenath Justin Doss.K²

¹II Year M.Sc. Nursing Student, ShriAnand Institute of Nursing, Rajkot, Gujarat.

²Principal, Shri Anand Institute of Nursing, Rajkot, Gujarat.

 

ABSTRACT:

Now a days, we can see so many psychiatric conditions like depression, anxiety hysteria etc. And people are feeling ashamed to talk about their condition or the condition their family member having, being a nursing personnel we need to provide care, counselling and concern to mentally ill people. So, it is necessary to have a positive attitude or favourable attitude or optimistic attitude towards mentally ill so they can share their problem with us.

A Quantitative approach with non-experimental descriptive research design was adopted for this study. The conceptual frame work for this study was based on health belief model theory. The study had been conducted in Shri Anand Institute, Rajkot.

A total of 60 Basic B.Sc. Nursing students were selected as samples were selected by non-probability purposive sampling technique which means, selection of the most readily available students as participants in a study. Data were collected by using demographics variables and attitude was measured by using the CAMI scale.

For the authoritarian factor from the 1st year students 12 (20%) students have severe authoritarian attitude and 3(5%) have moderate authoritarian attitude, from 2nd year 15 (25%) have moderate authoritarian attitude, from 3rd year 14 (23.33%) students have moderate authoritarian attitude and 1(1.66%) student have mild authoritarian attitude, from 4th year 14 (23.33%) students have moderate authoritarian attitude and 1(1.66%) student having mild authoritarian attitude towards mental illness.

For the benevolence factor, from 1st year 9 (15%) student having moderate optimistic attitude and 6 (10%) students having mild optimistic attitude, from 2nd year 15 (25%) students have moderate optimistic attitude, from 3rd year 14 (23.33%) students having moderate optimistic attitude and 1(1.66%) student having severe optimistic attitude, from 4th year 9 (15%) students have severe optimistic attitude and 6(10%) students have moderate optimistic attitude towards mental illness.

For the authoritarian attitude, mean score of the 1st year student’s is 40.67, 2nd year student’s is 25.53, for the 3rd year student’s is 29.46, and for the 4th year student’s is 20.4 thus the results shows that the 1st years students are having more authoritarian attitude towards mental illness as compared to 4th year students. For the optimistic attitude, mean score of the 1st year student’s is 23.34, for the second year student’s 25.53, for the 3rd year student is 27.26, and the 4th year student is 40.33 thus the results shows that 4th year students are having more optimistic attitude towards mental illness as compared to 1st year students.

Collected data was analyzed by the descriptive and inferential methods. Here the mean score of authoritarian attitude is 30.1 and optimistic attitude is 31.13 and the standard deviation of authoritarian attitude is 7.91 and optimistic attitude is 7.97. And the calculated t  value for authoritarian attitude is 29. 463 and tabulated t value is 3.46 with 59 df at the 0.001 level of significance. And the calculated t value of optimistic attitude is 30.253 and the tabulated value is 3.46 with 59 df at the 0.001 level of significance. Here the calculated t value is significantly greater than the tabulated t value (p=3.46) which shows this values are effective at p<0.001.

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

Mental illness is a diagnosis of a behavioural or mental pattern that can cause suffering or a poor ability to function in ordinary life, such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitting, or occur as a single episode.¹

 

A persistent negative attitude and social rejection of people with mental illness has prevailed throughout history in every social and religious culture. Of all the health problems, mental illnesses are poorly understood by the general public. Such poor knowledge and negative attitude towards mental illness threatens the effectiveness of patient care and rehabilitation. This poor and inappropriate view about mental illness can inhibit the decision to seek help and provide proper holistic care. Better knowledge is often reported to result in improved attitudes towards people with mental illness and a belief that mental illnesses are treatable can encourage early treatment seeking and promote better outcomes.²

 

NEED OF THE STUDY:

In India according to a Macro survey 2015 on mental health day, at least 5% of the population lives with the mental illness, which means over 50 million of people. Cases of Depression is 3 0f every 100 in urban areas. Cases of Alzheimer's are 54%, cases of Vascular Dementia are 39% prevalence of mental disorders in India was 70.5 per 1000 in rural and 73 per 1000 in urban population.³

 

According to World Health Organization (WHO) 2010 report, there are 0.05 psychiatry nurses per 1, 00,000 people in India. This ratio has not been changed over the years, which suggest that in spite of an increase in the absolute number of psychiatry nurses, the number of nurses per unit population has not improved in country. A decline in the number of graduates who choose a career in mental health nursing has been reported from developed countries as well.⁴

 

According to Vijayalakshmi Poreddi (2014) the nursing students have significant positive attitudes towards mental illness in three of the six attitude factors: Restrictiveness (8.59), benevolence (29.8), and stigmization (9.18). However, these students have negative attitude in sepratism (27.1), stereotype (11.5) and pessimistic prediction (11.7) domains as they rated high.⁵

 

OBJECTIVES:

1.      To assess the attitude of the students of 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year, and 4th year Basic B.Sc. Nursing.

2.      To compare the attitude of students across the successive training years.

3.      To find out the association between the attitude of the students with their selected demographic variable.

 

METHODS AND MATERIAL:

Research design:

The research design is Non-Experimental Descriptive research design.

Setting of the study:

The study was conducted in Shree Anand Collage of Nursing.

Population: Target population:

Basic B.Sc. Nursing students.

Accessible population:

All the nursing students studying in Shree Anand college of Nursing at Rajkot.

Sample:

A total of 60 samples were selected for the present study.

Sampling technique:

Non probability purposive sampling technique was used.

Data analysis:

Collected data analyzed by the descriptive statistics and inferential statistics.

 

FINDINGS:

·        here were 8 (13.33%) students were of 17-18 years, 19 (31.66%) students were of 18.1-19 years, 17 (28.33%) students were of 19.1-20 years, and 16 (26.66%) students were of age 20 or above.

·        Majority of the students were female 51 (85%) and 9 (15%) were male students. There were 15(25%) students were from 1st year, 15 (25%) were from second year, 15 (25%) were from 3rd year, 15 (25%) were from fourth year.

·        Most of the students 32 (53.33%) were from Urban area and 27 (45%) were from rural area. Here 26 (43.34%) students have attended any workshop or programme on awareness for mental illness and 34 (56.67%) have not attended any programme.

·        Only 15 (25%) students having Mental Health Nursing as a current subject. From all the 60 students 30 (50%) students had been posted in psychiatric ward and 30 (50%) students had not been posted in psychiatric ward.

·        Only 9 (15%) students have any family member with mental illness.

·        Here the mean score of authoritarian attitude is 30.1 and optimistic attitude is 31.13 and the standard deviation of authoritarian attitude is 7.91 and optimistic attitude is 7.97. And the calculated „t‟ value for authoritarian attitude is 29. 463 and tabulated “t” value is 3.46 with 59 df at the 0.001 level of significance. And the calculated “t” value of optimistic attitude is 30.253 and the tabulated value is 3.46 with 59 df at the 0.001 level of significance.

·        For the authoritarian factor from the 1st year students 12 (20%) students have severe authoritarian attitude and 3(5%) have moderate authoritarian attitude, from 2nd year 15 (25%) have moderate authoritarian attitude, from 3rd year 14 (23.33%) students have moderate authoritarian attitude and 1(1.66%) student have mild authoritarian attitude, from 4th year 14 (23.33%) students have moderate authoritarian attitude and 1(1.66%) student having mild authoritarian attitude towards mental illness.

·        For the benevolence factor, from 1st year 9 (15%) student having moderate optimistic attitude and 6 (10%) students having mild optimistic attitude, from 2nd year 15 (25%) students have moderate optimistic attitude, from 3rd year 14 (23.33%) students having moderate optimistic attitude and 1(1.66%) student having severe optimistic attitude, from 4th year 9 (15%) students have severe optimistic attitude and 6(10%) students have moderate optimistic attitude towards mental illness.

 

CONCLUSION:

Results shows that most of the 1st year students had severe and moderate level of authoritarian attitude towards mental illness as well most of the 4th year students had severe and moderate optimistic attitude towards mental illness. This shows the imperative need to understand the need of awareness programmes for mental illness regarding improving the attitude towards mental illness among students and it will improve the practice and care being provided to mentally ill by students.

 

REFERENCE:

1.     https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/mental-disorder. 23 April 2016.

2.     GhaiSandhya,” Association between the attitude of nursing students and shame and stigma about mental illness” National Institute of nursing education, post graduate institute of medical education and research, Chandigadh, Delhi psychiatric Journal, October 2013.

3.     Marshae Antoinette McNeal “An Evaluation of the Attitudes, Belives, and Mental Health Literacy of young African American College Graduates” 2015. Dissertations paper 107.

4.     Yatan Pal Sinh and SachiMathur,” A comparative study of attitudes toward psychiatry among nursing students across successive training years” Indian Journal of psychiatry, official publication of the south zone branch of the Indian psychiatric society, April June 2013.

5.     http://en.m.wikipedia.org./wiki/prevalence-of-mental-disorder. 20 April 2016

 

 

Received on 29.08.2017           Modified on 18.09.2017

Accepted on 29.10.2017         © A&V Publications all right reserved