Andrew E. P. Mitchell
Psychological distress in student nurses undertaking an educational programme with professional registration as a nurse: Their perceived barriers and facilitators in seeking psychological support
University of Chester
known subject psychological distress major health concern university student populations risk due high academic economic interpersonal demands time number studies conducted looking distress service uptake amongst university students lack comparative information student nurse population therefore study focuses level psychological distress service uptake student nurses training student nurses training acknowledged particularly vulnerable anxiety depression anxiety depression interfere educational achievement interfere working relationships important aspect clinical practice paper adds existing knowledge study investigates psychological distress service uptake student nurses single study measuring level distress comparing adult nonpatient norms key findings suggest high levels anxiety depression poor uptake support student nurses main barrier seeking support fear disclosure anxiety andor depression feared impact suitability train nurse implications practice due fear disclosure low levels support seeking mental health nurses academics key role play mental health literacy seems reasonable given key findings suggest interventions directed decreasing anxiety depression mindfulness training evidencebased strategies recommended psychological distress needs due attention higher education sector health professionals involved mental health service provision support evidencebased strategies target issuesintroduction study adds existing international evidence psychological distress student population focusing student nurses quantitatively assesses psychological distress comparative norms investigates service uptake single study aim aim study investigate level psychological distress students compare population norms highlight potential facilitators barriers help seeking methods study recruited n 121 student nurses one university crosssectional design data analysed using descriptive statistics independent tests oneway anovas findings key findings show high levels psychological distress levels seen general population main barriers seeking support fear disclosure perceived impact suitability student nurse discussion study highlights high levels distress identified literature seen student nurses fear disclosure may account seeking support relevance fear disclosure low levels seeking support suggest need mental health nurses academics play key role mental health literacy evidencebased interventions mindfulness combat issues