ATTITUDES OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TOWARDS WORKING IN MENTAL HEALTH SETTINGS IN ZIMBABWE: A STUDY OF UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE FINAL YEAR SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS.

Abstract

The bid to better understand the non-uptake of psychiatric social work in Zimbabwe resulted in carrying out a mixed methods study assessing the attitudes of undergraduate social work students towards working in mental health settings in Zimbabwe. To achieve this aim, the social learning theory guided the study in establishing social work students’ attitudes towards mental ill health, investigated social work students’ attitude towards seeking employment in psychiatric social work settings, and identified factors associated with non�uptake of mental health posts. It also explored strategies for improving uptake of psychiatric social work in Zimbabwe. Analysis of findings using the Statistical Package for Social Scientist and Microsoft Excel as well as themes unearthed by the study revealed that there are generally positive mental health attitudes among students. Students also had the conviction that clinical social work is an important field of practice which champions the rights and aspirations of the mentally challenged who are one of society’s most vulnerable and less prioritised minority groups. It was however established that absence of adequate mental health information and training, favourable working conditions that guarantees safety and competitive remuneration packages are some of the many factors responsible for non�uptake of psychiatric social work positions in Zimbabwe. In order to make psychiatric social work more appealing to prospective practitioners, the study recommends that social work training has to be more attuned to mental health issues by embracing contemporary best teaching and learning practices. Mental health organizations also have to consider introducing lucrative salaries and competitive incentives to lure more social workers into the mental health field