Experience of Nursing Students in Mental Health Training in Kenya

Abstract

Introduction: In Kenya, there are few psychiatric nurses available to provide mental health services. Few students pursue psychiatric nursing specialty. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting psychiatric clinical experience of students of nursing during mental health nursing placement and its influence on the choice of psychiatric nursing specialty training. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted with a sample size of 241 participants was carried out in 3 universities and 6 diploma training colleges in Kenya. Cluster and systematic random sampling was used to select the study participants. Statistical significance was set at p≤0.05. Results: Based on two-sided t-test, a significant relationship existed between value of mental health and willingness to pursue psychiatric nursing. Students who liked psychiatric nursing had a higher mean in the domain of value of mental health with a mean of 4.8 (95% CI= 4.7-4.9) unlike their counterparts with a mean of 4.5 (95% CI=4.4-4.6); p<0.0001. A significant relationship between the willingness to pursue mental health and preparation for mental health clinical placement existed. Students who had a valuable experience were willing to pursue mental health and they had a higher mean of 2.9 (95% CI = 2.9-3.0, p<0.0001). Conclusion: The findings from this study show that psychiatric experience of students influences the desire of a student to pursue the specialty. All people responsible with the training of students should ensure that the students have a pleasant psychiatric experience.