This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing mental health nurses' attitudes towards people with mental illness. A descriptive correlation design was used. A sample of 180 Taiwanese mental health nurses was recruited from mental health-care settings. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Pearson's product-moment correlation, Student's t-test, one-way anova, and a hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Negative attitudes were found among mental health nurses, especially with respect to individuals with substance abuse compared with those with schizophrenia and major depression. Mental health nurses who were older, had more clinical experiences in mental health care, and demonstrated greater empathy expressed more positive attitudes towards people with mental illness. Mental health nurses working at acute psychiatric units demonstrated more negative attitudes towards mental illness compared with those working in psychiatric rehabilitation units and outpatient clinics or community psychiatric rehabilitation centres. Particularly, length of mental health nursing practice and empathy significantly accounted for mental health nurses' attitudes towards mental illness. Understanding nurses' attitudes and their correlates towards people with mental illness is critical to deliver effective mental health nursing care.

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Health-related quality of life is an increasingly critical outcome of mental healthcare, yet its disease-independent attributes, particularly family-focused resilient indicators, for individuals with schizophrenia have not been explicitly examined. The aim of this study was to explore the degree of health-related quality of life and to examine the mediating effect of family sense of coherence on internalized stigma and health-related quality of life in individuals with schizophrenia. A cross-sectional and correlational study design was used. A total of 111 individuals with schizophrenia were enrolled from the in-patient psychiatric rehabilitation services of two psychiatric hospitals in Taiwan. Face-to-face structured interviews were applied to collect information. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and multiple regression analyses. The results indicated that affected individuals experienced impaired health-related quality of life. Family sense of coherence partially mediated the relationship between internalized stigma and health-related quality of life. This study indicates that knowledge about the role of family sense of coherence in mental health rehabilitation may assist mental healthcare professionals to provide therapeutic interventions to address internalized stigma, thereby promoting health-related quality of life in individuals living with schizophrenia.KEY WORDS: family sense of coherence, health-related quality of life, internalized stigma, schizophrenia.

Accessible summary What is known on the subject? Families act not only as the primary support for people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia but also as partners in the healthcare system. Families who have members with mental disorders, particularly schizophrenia, experience challenges in family functioning. Research on families in relation to schizophrenia primarily focuses on the determinants that affect family functioning from primary family caregivers' perspectives. What does the paper add to existing knowledge? This report provides evidence that there is a concordance between family functioning and inpatient psychiatric rehabilitation facilities for the patient–caregiver dyad; both care‐receivers and primary family caregivers considered family functioning as poor. Care‐receivers with lower education levels, increased number of previous hospitalizations and poor quality of family‐centred care experienced unhealthy family functioning. Primary family caregivers and care‐receivers with higher education levels, lower suicidality and greater quality of family‐centred care experienced healthier family functioning. What are the implications for practice? Understanding the degree of family functioning, particularly its concordance and correlates as perceived by patients and primary family caregivers, may serve as a platform for inculcating assessment of family functioning to achieve holistic patient care. Open dialogue in family‐focused care planning is essential to facilitate collaborative partnerships and improve family functioning among people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and their primary family caregivers. Further research on culturally relevant, evidence‐based family interventions to enhance the functioning of affected families is warranted, especially for families with members in inpatient psychiatric rehabilitation facilities. Abstract IntroductionFamilies provide frontline caregiving support for people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. However, research primarily addresses correlates of family functioning from primary family caregivers' perspectives. AimTo examine perceived family functioning, particularly its concordance within patient–caregiver dyads and associated factors in families of people living with schizophrenia. MethodsA cross‐sectional, descriptive correlational design was used. A total of 133 dyads of patients and primary family caregivers from inpatient psychiatric rehabilitation services participated. Descriptive statistics, independent‐sample t test, one‐way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, intraclass correlation coefficient and stepwise multiple linear regression analyses were applied. ResultsFamily functioning was perceived as impaired by patient–caregiver dyads, and there existed a concordance in this regard. Patients' and family caregivers' education levels, patients' suicidality, number of previous hospitalizations and quality of family‐centred care correlated with patients' and primary family caregivers' family functioning. DiscussionFindings highlight the impo...

Key wordsAttitudes toward the importance of families in nursing care, nurse's attitudes toward schizophrenia, primary family caregiver, quality of family-centered care, schizophrenia Correspondence AbstractPurpose: This study aimed to examine the quality of family-centered care perceived by primary family caregivers and its influencing factors in mental healthcare practice. Design: A cross-sectional, correlational study. Methods: A convenience sample of 121 mental health nurses and 164 primary family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia was recruited from acute psychiatric wards and chronic psychiatric rehabilitation wards in three psychiatric hospitals in Taiwan. Structured questionnaires for mental health nurses were designed to examine nurses' attitudes toward schizophrenia and the importance of families in nursing care. Primary family caregivers were assessed to determine their perceptions of quality of family-centered care. At least one primary family caregiver of patients was matched to a nurse who took major responsibility for the patient during the hospitalization. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Pearson's productmoment correlations, independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and stepwise regression analyses. Results: Quality of family-centered care perceived by primary family caregivers regarding the provision of general and specific information, as compared to enabling and partnership, coordinated and comprehensive care, and respectful and supportive care, was relatively inadequate. Younger and more educated primary family caregivers, having relatives with schizophrenia in acute wards, less supportive nurses' attitudes toward schizophrenia, and the importance of family in nursing care were correlated with poor primary family caregivers' perceptions of quality of family-centered care. Nurses' supportive attitudes toward schizophrenia and chronic psychiatric rehabilitation wards where patients received care were key factors in determining better quality of family-centered care.