Abstract Background Mental health education in community nursing is an important way to improve residents' mental health literacy. However, traditional methods such as lectures and brochures are often monotonous and lack interactivity, resulting in low resident participation and limited knowledge absorption. Film, as a medium with both emotional resonance and narrative appeal, can convey mental health knowledge and guide a positive mindset through concrete stories, aligning with the cognitive habits of community residents. Existing research lacks systematic verification of the effectiveness of film and television materials in community nursing; therefore, this study aims to explore its application value and provide a basis for optimizing community mental health education models. Methods This study selected 120 residents from two street communities and divided them into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received video and audio media intervention, while the control group received traditional health education. The intervention period was 2 months. The Mental Health Knowledge Awareness Scale (MKAS), Mental Coping Ability Scale (MCAS), and Mental Health Attitude Scale (MHAS) were used for assessment at baseline and after the intervention. Data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation. Independent samples t-tests were used to analyze differences between groups, and Cronbach's α coefficient was used to test the reliability of the scales. Results Table 1 shows good reliability and validity, with a total Cronbach's α coefficient of 0.90 and α coefficients for each dimension ranging from 0.81 to 0.86. After the intervention, the scores of all indicators in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p.001). The MKAS score in the experimental group increased from 58.3 ± 7.2 before the intervention to 82.5 ± 6.1, the MCAS score increased from 52.6 ± 6.8 to 79.3 ± 5.7, and the MHAS score increased from 49.5 ± 7.0 to 76.4 ± 5.9, all significantly better than the scores of the control group after the intervention (p.001), indicating that the application of film and television materials has a significant effect. Discussion The research findings demonstrate that using film and television materials as a medium for mental health education is highly effective in community nursing. Its core advantage lies in lowering the barriers to knowledge absorption through emotional storytelling and enhancing comprehension and application through group interactions, thereby addressing the diverse learning needs of community residents. This approach is easy to implement and cost-effective, effectively improving residents' mental health knowledge, coping skills, and positive attitudes. In the future, the sample can be expanded to include residents of various ages and educational backgrounds, and the themes of film and television materials can be refined to further enhance the accuracy and reach of community mental health education.
Jing Gao (Sun,) studied this question.