Using a Mental Health Board Game Intervention to Reduce Mental Illness Stigma Among Nursing Students
Date Approved
7-2014
Graduate Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Nursing (D.N.P.)
Degree Program
College of Nursing
Abstract
Mental illness stigma can be displayed by anyone including those working in the health care field. Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students are one group within the health care field. The purpose of this project is to explore attitude change among BSN students related to mental illness stigma. The question guiding this project is whether a creative game implemented in conjunction with the existing educational and clinical experiences is helpful in reducing mental illness stigma in BSN students. Thirty-eight participants, 5 males and 33 females, a majority of whom were 20-21 years old, participated in this project. The intervention in this project was The Mental Illness Stigma Game for BSN Students and was implemented in addition to the existing educational and clinical course content. The comparison group and study group both received a pretest and posttest. The major differences between the two groups were that the comparison group did not receive the intervention and they participated in their mental health course content prior to receiving the pretest, as opposed to the study group. The Mental Illness Clinician Attitudes Scale-Version 4 (MICA-4) was used as a pretest and a posttest to measure the students’ attitudes. Data analysis was performed using SPSS with descriptive statistics, ttests and ANCOVA. The results showed there was a significant difference between the two groups and between the pretest and the posttest in the study group. Additionally, a majority of students in the study group felt this intervention was effective in positively changing their attitudes about those with a mental illness. While the results do not demonstrate this board game’s effectiveness in decreasing stigma in all populations, further research should focus on testing this intervention on a wider scale and reevaluating students after they have been on the job for several months.
ScholarWorks Citation
Wassink, Anna Kristina, "Using a Mental Health Board Game Intervention to Reduce Mental Illness Stigma Among Nursing Students" (2014). Doctoral Dissertations. 15.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/dissertations/15
