Nursing Students’ Perceptions Toward Recovery in Mental Health: A Descriptive Qualitative Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND Recovery in mental health remains inconclusive where the two most prevailing definitions “clinical” and “personal” remain. In nursing schools, students are predominantly taught straightforward concepts of clinical recovery, which result in only a perfunctory and rudimentary understanding of recovery among the undergraduates. AIMS To explore the perceptions of nursing undergraduates on recovery for people experiencing mental health conditions. METHOD A descriptive qualitative study was conducted on 14 nursing undergraduates from Years 1 to 4 of the study. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling, and the required sample size was determined by data saturation. Semistructured questions were used during the individual face-to-face interviews from October and December 2019. Recordings were transcribed verbatim; the transcripts were then subjected to thematic analysis. RESULTS Three themes were identified to support the research questions: (1) semantics of major terms used in mental health care—where participants provided the description of terminologies used; (2) the meaning of recovery—where participants explained their views on “recovery”; and (3) sources of conceptualization—where participants explained their conceptual understanding on mental health conditions and recovery. CONCLUSION The findings suggest that the need for a more holistic approach encompassing personal recovery should be included in the nursing curriculum. This is necessary to promote enabling support in the recovery of people experiencing mental health conditions beyond medical interventions.

Occupational therapy students’ perception on mental health recovery: A descriptive qualitative exploration

“…Additionally, because the participating OT undergraduates were taught the biopsychosocial model of MHCs, their characterisation of the causes conformed to that of nursing and medical student populations in Singapore (Chua et al, 2021; Kuek et al, 2022). While this frequently adopted model is rigorous as a basic explanatory tool, the incorporation of cultural factors such as spirituality and religious beliefs may better expose OT undergraduates to the broader lens commonly used in society to perceive MHCs.…”

Medical students’ perception towards mental health recovery: a descriptive qualitative study

“…Longitudinal studies on how the medical undergraduates’ attitudes change throughout their training will also provide critical insights into whether our findings will remain similar in the long term. Notable parallels can be drawn from a recent similar study on nursing students from the same medical school in Singapore [ 40 ]. In defining mental illnesses, the participants from both studies demonstrated a similar tendency to rely on biological symptoms and markers pertaining to the brain and established diagnostic criteria such as the DSM.…”

“…In defining recovery in mental health, the participants from both studies commonly used the function-defined perspective, referring to the pre-morbid state as a yardstick for functionality. As with the medical undergraduates in this study, the nursing students expressed the sentiment that a return to the pre-morbid state would be unrealistic [ 40 ]. They also held that healthcare professionals should work with patients to determine recovery progress in aspects such as daily living while managing residual symptoms [ 40 ].…”

“…As with the medical undergraduates in this study, the nursing students expressed the sentiment that a return to the pre-morbid state would be unrealistic [ 40 ]. They also held that healthcare professionals should work with patients to determine recovery progress in aspects such as daily living while managing residual symptoms [ 40 ].…”

“…In conceptualising mental well-being, the participants from both studies commonly expressed the notion that mental illnesses and well-being existed on a continuum and that the two were mutually exclusive. Some nursing students also thought that mental well-being would aid recovery in mental health [ 40 ] though they made no mention on whether mental well-being could be used as preventive or protective buffer against mental illnesses [ 40 ], a role that was reported by the medical undergraduates in this study. As a whole, the similarities in findings between the two studies corroboratively underline areas in mental health education in Singapore’s medical schools that can be improved.…”