Primary health care nurses: attitudes towards the person with mental disorder

ABSTRACT Objective To identify the attitudes of nurses working in Primary Health Care towards the person with mental disorder and the variables related to health care provided. Methodology Descriptive, correlational study with 250 nurses from 69 Basic Health Units in the city of São Paulo. Data collection took place between April and August 2019 using the “Opinions about Mental Illness” scale. The data were analyzed using the KrusKal-Wallis test, with a 95% confidence level and statistical significance of p <0.05. Results The global mean of the scale was 197, which shows negative attitudes especially in the dimensions of Authoritarianism (44.6), Social Restriction (42.0), and positive in the dimension of Benevolence (51.7). Conclusion Nurses tend to have a stigmatizing attitudinal profile. It is necessary formative and permanent intervention so that it is possible to reduce stigma and improve community-based care recommended in the guidelines of the Psychosocial Care Network.

Opinions on mental illness from the perspective of primary care nurses in Portugal

Objective: To identify the opinions of primary care nurses regarding mental illness and the care provided to this population. Methodology: Cross-sectional, quantitative study with the participation of 328 nurses of primary health care in Porto, Portugal. Data collected between April and August of 2018 through the scale "Opinions about Mental Illness" and socio demographic and labor questionnaire. Descriptive and correlational statistics were applied. Results: A total of 50% of the nurses presented positive opinions about the mental illness. Regarding the assistance provided in their unit of action, 53.4% considered inadequate and 50.3% recognized as adequate their knowledge about the role that primary health care has in assisting the person with mental illness. Conclusion: Positive opinions and recognition of the importance of primary care to people with mental illness are important indicators for qualified mental health care outside the field of specialty.

Epidemiological patterns of mental disorders and stigma in a community household survey in urban slum and rural settings in Kenya

Purpose: This study investigated the epidemiological patterns of mental illness and stigma in community households in Kenya using a cross-sectional community household survey among 846 participants. Methods: A cross-sectional community household survey was conducted around urban slum (Kangemi) and rural (Kibwezi) selected health facilities in Kenya. All households within the two sites served by the selected health facilities were included in the study. To select the main respondent in the household, the oldest adult who could speak English, Kiswahili or both (the official languages in Kenya) was selected to participate in the interview. The Opinion about Mental Illness in Chinese Community (OMICC) questionnaire and the MINI-International Neuropsychiatric Interview–Plus Version 5 (MINI) tools were administered to the participants. Pearson’s chi-square test was used to compare prevalence according to gender, while adjusted regression models examined the association between mental illness and views about mental illness, stratified by gender. Results: The overall prevalence of mental illness was 45%, showing gender differences regarding common types of illness. The opinions about mental illness were similar for men and women, while rural respondents were more positively opinionated than urban participants. Overall, suffering from mental illness was associated with more positive opinions among women and more negative opinions among men. Conclusion: More research is needed into the factors explaining the observed differences in opinion about mental illness between the subgroups, and the impact of mental illness on stigma in Kenya in order to create an evidence-based approach against stigma.

Gender, Culture, and Attitudes Toward People with Psychiatric Disabilities

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of gender and culture on attitudes toward people with psychiatric disabilities (PWPD). Two hundred and forty university students from Asian, Latino, and European American cultural backgrounds participated in the study. The Opinions about Mental Illness scale was used to measure attitudes, and the Level of Contact Scale was used to measure the covariant – contact with PWPD. A 2 (gender) x 3 (culture) MANCOVA was performed. Results indicated that female students in all three ethnic groups had more positive attitudes toward PWPD than did male students. Of the three ethnic cultural groups, European American students had the most positive view of PWPD, and Latino American students had the least positive view of PWPD. Implications of the results for rehabilitation counselors and researchers are discussed.