Perspectives of university health care students on mental health stigma in Nigeria: Qualitative analysis

Factors associated with nursing students' mental health-related stigma: A multisite cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Mental health-related stigma remains a complex and pervasive issue globally. It not only inhibits individuals from seeking help but also influences the quality of healthcare they receive. Despite extensive research on mental health-related stigma, there is still limited understanding of factors influencing mental health-related stigma among nursing students.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to assess the level of mental health-related stigma among Chinese nursing students and investigate possible associated factors.

METHODS

Data were collected from the 2023 Psychology and Behavior Investigation of Chinese Residents (PBICR) survey. A total of 967 nursing students were included in the study. Multivariate stepwise linear regression analysis was conducted to examine the influencing factors of mental health stigma.

RESULTS

The mean mental health-related stigma score among nursing students was 15.31 ± 5.23 (range = 0-27). Perceived stress (β = 0.14, P = 0.001), self-efficacy (β = 0.22, P < 0.001), academic stage (β = 0.17, P < 0.001), depression (β = 0.15, P < 0.001), and adverse life events (β = 0.06, P = 0.044) were significantly associated with mental health-related stigma among nursing students (R2 = 0.147, adjusted R2 = 0.143, F = 33.214, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Nursing students in China exhibit a moderate level of mental health-related stigma, suggesting room for improvement. Perceived stress, self-efficacy, academic stage, depression, and adverse life events emerged as significant influencing factors for mental health-related stigma. These findings provide valuable insights for developing interventions to reduce mental health-related stigma among nursing students, ultimately enhancing their well-being and preparing them for becoming competent healthcare professionals in the future.

Management of Depression in Black People: Effects of Cultural Issues

Black people are disproportionately affected by mental illness, including depression. While the prevalence of depression is paradoxically lower among the Black population, the impact of depression on Black people results in greater severity of illness and higher chronicity. The main factors through which Black people experience worse mental health outcomes includes delayed treatment seeking, and poor access to mental health services. Mental illness stigma contributes to the delay in treatment seeking behavior. Stigma refers to negative attitudes, beliefs or behaviors about a particular characteristic of an individual such as their health status. Both patients and mental health professionals experience stigma that impacts health engagement, limits access to effective depression treatments, and compromises positive patient-clinician communication. A commitment to lifelong learning about the role of culture, history, and the psychosocial context of our patients is critical to closing public health gaps in the field of mental health.

Religiosity, stress, and depressive symptoms among nursing and medical students during the middle stage of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study in Morocco

Background

Recent studies on nursing and medical students showed a higher prevalence of depression and stress than the general population. Religiosity and spirituality are common in Muslim countries and are usually used as a means of coping strategy for psychological and mental disorders.

Objective

Our objective was to evaluate the association between religious actions, depressive symptoms, and stress among students of nursing education lasting 3 years and students from the first 3 years of medical education lasting 7 years. The study was conducted at Ibn Zohr University of Agadir, Morocco.

Method

A sample of different stages of nursing and medical students was recruited. Religiosity was assessed by Muslim Belief into Action (M.BIAC) scale. The depressive symptoms and stress were, respectively, assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).

Results

Four hundred and thirteen students participated in this study. Our results showed a high prevalence of depressive symptoms (62.2%) and stress (66.8%). The depression scores were higher in the following subsample categories: students in the first 2 years of studies, female medical students, and nursing students with significant differences. The recorded religiosity was greater among students without depression compared to students with depression (p < 0.001). In the multivariate regression, the BIAC score demonstrated religiosity as neither a risk factor nor a protective factor of depression.

Conclusion

Religiosity constitutes a protective factor of depression and stress among nursing and medical students. This should improve the student's ability to cope with stressful situations during their training. Prospective studies are needed to further investigate this association and how religiosity improves mental health. This would contribute to improved academic performance and wellbeing among medical and nursing students.

Perspectives of Nursing Students towards Schizophrenia Stigma: A Qualitative Study Protocol

Aim: This study aims to explore fourth-year nursing students’ knowledge of schizophrenia and their attitudes, empathy, and intentional behaviours towards people with schizophrenia. Design: This will be a descriptive qualitative study using focus-group interviews. Methods: Fourth-year nursing students on clinical placement in a hospital in Hunan province will be invited for focus-group interviews. Snowball and purposive sampling will be used to recruit nursing students for this study. Five focus-group interviews, each including six participants, will be conducted to explore participants’ knowledge, attitudes, intentional behaviours, and empathy towards schizophrenia. The interview will be conducted through the online Tencent video conference platform and the interview data will be collected through the same platform. All interviews will be recorded and transcribed verbatim and analysed with the approach of the content analysis supported by NVivo 12. Simultaneous data collection and analysis will be performed, and the interviews will be continued until data saturation is met. The findings of this study will be helpful in developing effective interventions to decrease the stigma toward schizophrenia among nursing students and those who study healthcare disciplines.