Abstract:
Society’s perception of the causes of mental disorder is one of the factors that
influence how thementally ill is treated. Stigma affects not only people with
mental illnesses but nurses and other professionals working with individuals
diagnosed with mental illness. This study assessed the effect of stigma on
mental health nurses. A cross-sectional descriptive design was adopted for
this study, and a structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 101
mental health nurses. Data was analyzed and summarized descriptively using
frequency tables and graphs. An inferential analysis was conducted by Pear son Product Moment of correlation and Independent sample t test. The results
show that the respondents perceive stigma to stem largely from the society.
Females reported a higher level of stigma and discrimination from the general
public than males. The majority of the participants view stigma as discrimina tion. Public education and expansion of community care are important meas ures to reduce the effects of stigma and discrimination.
