Comparisons between the attitudes of student nurses and other health and social care students toward illicit drug use: An attitudinal survey.
In the context of a recent emphasis on compassion in the delivery of health care, the current study set out to measure the attitudes of different groups of health and social care students toward illicit drug users. Previous research has identified variations in the attitudes of different groups of health and social care professionals toward working with illicit drug users. Nurses, in particular, have been reported as holding moralistic or stereotypical views of illicit drug users. However, few studies have measured the attitudes of student nurses or compared their attitudes to other health and social care students. This article describes the use of a bespoke attitude scale to measure the attitudes of cohorts of student nurses, clinical psychology trainees, health and social care, social work and midwifery students at the start of their course (N=308). Results indicated that student nurses had the least tolerant attitudes, reinforcing the need for a specific educational focus on working with illicit drug users in nurse education. Variations between student groups indicate that Interprofessional Education can provide an opportunity to improve attitudes toward illicit drug users, particularly amongst student nurses.
The University of Nottingham, Division of Medical Sciences and Graduate Entry Medicine, The School Of Medicine, Royal Derby Hospital Centre, Room 3020, Uttoxeter Road, Derby DE22 3DT, United Kingdom. Electronic address: m.harling@nottingham.ac.uk.
Martyn R
MR
Harling
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008880:Midwifery / Q000193:education / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D057545:Social Stigma; D012947:Social Work / Q000193:education / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom
Attitudes; Clinical psychology trainees; Drug use/misuse; Interprofessional education; Midwifery students; Social work students; Student nurses