The effect of peer education on nursing students’ beliefs about mental illnesses

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the study is to determine the effect of peer education on the beliefs of nursing department students about mental illnesses.
METHODS: The research is a quasi-experimental study with pre-test-post-test control group. The sample of the study consisted of 72 1st-year students studying in the nursing department. Students were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups according to their rank in the student list. While the peer education program was applied to the students in the intervention group, no education was applied to the students in the control group. The data were collected using the “Personal Information Form” and the “Beliefs on Mental Illness Scale.”
RESULTS: It was determined that the mean scores of helplessness and deterioration in interpersonal relations, danger-ousness, and embarrassment of the students in the intervention group decreased significantly after peer education (p<0.05). In addition, after the peer education, it was determined that the students in the intervention group had significantly lower scores on the “Beliefs on Mental Illness Scale” and its sub-dimensions post-test scores than the students in the control group (p<0.05).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Beliefs developed by nurses about mental illnesses affect the quality of care provided to individuals with mental illness. Ignoring the negative beliefs of nursing students will lead to unexpected results for patient care in the future. As a result of the study, it was determined that peer education created a positive change in the beliefs of the nursing department students about mental illnesses.