Exploring Shifts in Nursing Students' Attitudes Towards Mental Illness through Pre- and Post-Psychiatric Training: An Interventional Inquiry

Introduction: Mental health awareness is crucial for nursing students to provide quality patient care. This study ex-amined the impact of psychiatric training on nursing student’s attitudes toward mental illness, focusing on reducing stigma and boosting empathy. Methods: The study involved 80 first- and third-year nursing students at a hospital in Kanchipuram. Students received 60 hours of psychiatry training, and attitudes were measured using the CAMI Scale. Results: Results showed mixed improvements in nursing students' attitudes post-psychiatric training. Benevolence (p < 0.01) and Social Restrictiveness (p < 0.01) improved significantly, whereas Authoritarianism and CMHI showed limited change. Correlation analysis revealed consistent relationships in benevolent attitudes (r=0.742, p<0.001), socially restrictive attitudes (r=0.655, p<0.001), and community mental health ideology (r=0.584, p<0.001) between 1st-year and 3rd-year students. Conclusion: Psychiatric training boosted empathy and reduced restrictive attitudes in nursing students. However, its impact on authoritarian views and community ideology was limited. A more compre-hensive curriculum could help reduce stigma and promote compassionate care.