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

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.

Keywords
Mental health assistance; Mental health; Attitude of health personnel; Primary nursing

Dimension	Mean	SD	Amplitude
Total Scale	197.0	17.2	124-260
Authoritarianism	44.6	6.2	23-63
Benevolence	51.7	5.4	31-68
Mental Hygiene	28.1	4.0	18-42
Social Restriction	42.0	5.1	24-55
Interpersonal Etiology	30.6	4.8	15-42

Variables	N	%
Care experience with people with MD^*
No	91	36.4
Yes	159	63.6
Frequency you encounter with people with MD
Daily	159	63.6
Weekly	76	30.4
Monthly	15	6.0
Occasionally	-	-
Knowledge about health care needs to the person with MD
Very inadequate	33	13.2
Inadequate	14	5.6
Adequate	98	39.2
Very adequate	105	42.0
PHC^* role in assistance in MD
Very inadequate	22	8.8
Inadequate	15	6.0
Adequate	87	34.8
Very adequate	126	50.4
Needs Assessment of care/health of people with MD
Very inadequate	60	24.0
Inadequate	37	14.8
Very adequate	69	27.6
Adequate	84	33.6
Considers the assistance provided by the service
Very inadequate	33	13.2
Inadequate	37	14.8
Very adequate	79	31.6
Adequate	101	40.4

Variables	AUT	BEN	MHI	SR	IE
Formation Time*	0.001**	0.013**	0.091	0.380	0.615
Workload*	0.002**	0.002**	0.395	0.000**	0.002**
Type of formation institution	0.024**	0.836	0.309	0.006**	0.842
MH content/ discipline in formation	0.864	0.312	0.038**	0.632	0.109
MH* internship in formation	0.191	0.571	0.982	0.151	0.042**
Health needs assessment conducted by the service where they work	0.007	0.563	0.805	0.192	0.849
Contact/experience with people with MD	0.001**	0.209	0.006**	0.037	0.008
Frequency of encounter people with MD	0.222	0.007**	0.862	0.026**	0.144
Evaluation of assistance to people with MD	0.808	0.001**	0.601	0.011	0.118

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Escola de Enfermagem Rua São Manoel, 963 -Campus da Saúde , 90.620-110 - Porto Alegre - RS - Brasil, Fone: (55 51) 3308-5242 / Fax: (55 51) 3308-5436 - Porto Alegre - RS - Brazil
E-mail: revista@enf.ufrgs.br

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[1] Corresponding author
Maria do Perpétuo Socorro de Sousa Nóbrega Email perpetua.nobrega@usp.br