Attitudes Towards Mental Illness Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: Grant Proposal

This grant proposal seeks funding for a project to determine if undergraduate nursing student’s attitudes and stigma associated with mental illness are positively impacted by a formal presentation done by a person living with schizophrenia. Research has shown that personal contact with stigmatized groups of people can have a positive impact on participants negative attitudes, however the more similar these groups are the more positive the impact is. According to previous research, negative attitudes and the stigma associated with mental illness continue to create disparities in access to care for those with a mental illness. The disparities are not only related to mental health care, but to care for physical needs as well. Research has shown that those with a mental illness have significantly shorter life spans, in part due to the disparities in health care for those with a mental illness. Undergraduate nursing students are required to complete a psychiatric mental health clinical and theory course, and many studies have been conducted on the impact of this required coursework on the stigmas students may hold about mental illness. However, few studies have been conducted examining the impact of personal contact with a professional person with schizophrenia on undergraduate nursing students, especially prior to the start of any of their psychiatric nursing coursework. Data for this project will be collected from undergraduate nursing students enrolled in the traditional BSN program at a Southern California University. Statement of Problem Negative attitudes and its associated stigma towards mental illness continue to create disparities in care for those with a mental illness. Despite nationwide campaigns to attack this issue, there is still much progress to be made. Undergraduate nursing students are currently only required to interact with those with a mental illness when they are patients, and therefore are not granted the opportunity to have personal contact with a professional person with a mental illness that is not currently hospitalized or in crisis. This quasi-experimental pre and posttest research design will fill a research gap, as only a few small scale similar studies have been conducted. Sources of Data: Data will be collected using The Attitudes towards Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) (Cunningham et al., 1993) for both the pre-and-post-test survey to measure attitudes towards people with schizophrenia before and after the intervention. In addition, demographic information will be collected.