Essay Stigma, Negative Attitudes and Discrimination – Medical Science Assignment Help

Assignment Task:

Task:

The aim of this paper was to review the existing literature pertaining to stigma, negative attitudes and discrimination towards mental illness, specifically as viewed through the lens of the nursing profession. The results of the literature review were synthesized and analysed, and the major themes drawn from this were found to correspond with Schulze’s model identifying three positions that healthcare workers may assume in relation to stigma of mental illness: ‘stigmatizers’, ‘stigmatized’ and ‘de-stigmatizers’. In this paper, the nursing profession is examined from the perspectives of the first two major themes: the ‘stigmatizers’ and ‘stigmatized’. Their primary sub-themes are identified and discussed: (1) Nurses as ‘the stigmatizers’: (a) nurses’ attitudes in general medical settings towards patients with psychiatric illness and (b) psychiatric nurses; (2) Nurses as ‘the stigmatized’: (a) nurses who have mental illness and (b) stigma within the profession against psychiatric nurses and/or psychiatry in general. The secondary and tertiary sub-themes are also identified and reviewed.

Keywords: discrimination, mental illness, negative attitudes, nursing, psychiatric nursing, stigma

Introduction

At first, when I was waiting to hear whether my cancer was in remission, doctors and nurses in A&E were highly supportive. Later, as soon as they knew that I was known to the mental health services, their attitude changed. It was as if they could relate to someone who had cancer, but not to someone with mental health problems.

Methodology

A primary literature search was undertaken to obtain relevant literature. Databases searched were: CINAHL with Full Text, Academic Search Premier, Alt Health Watch, Biomedical Reference Collection: Comprehensive, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, EJS E-Journals, ERIC, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, MAS Ultra – School Edition, MEDLINE, Primary Search, PsychARTICLES and SocINDEX