Can a clinical placement influence stigma? An analysis of measures of social distance

Background The way people who experience mental illness are perceived by health care professionals, which often includes stigmatising attitudes, can have a significant impact on treatment outcomes and on their quality of life. Objective To determine whether stigma towards people with mental illness varied for undergraduate nursing students who attended a non-traditional clinical placement called Recovery Camp compared to students who attended a \u27typical\u27 mental health clinical placement. Design Quasi-experimental. Participants Seventy-nine third-year nursing students were surveyed; n = 40 attended Recovery Camp (intervention), n = 39 (comparison group) attended a \u27typical\u27 mental health clinical placement. Methods All students completed the Social Distance Scale (SDS) pre- and post-placement and at three-month follow-up. Data analysis consisted of a one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) exploring parameter estimates between group scores across three time points. Two secondary repeated measures ANOVAs were performed to demonstrate the differences in SDS scores for each group across time. Pairwise comparisons demonstrated the differences between time intervals. Results A statistically significant difference in ratings of stigma between the intervention group and the comparison group existed. Parameter estimates revealed that stigma ratings for the intervention group were significantly reduced post-placement and remained consistently low at three-month follow-up. There was no significant difference in ratings of stigma for the comparison group over time. Conclusions Students who attended Recovery Camp reported significant decreases in stigma towards people with a mental illness over time, compared to the typical placement group. Findings suggest that a therapeutic recreation based clinical placement was more successful in reducing stigma regarding mental illness in undergraduate nursing students compared to those who attended typical mental health clinical placements

The 2014 BFA Graduating Class Department of Visual Arts

Congratulations on the opening of this, your graduate exhibition. Your presence in this catalogue not only celebrates your achievements while you’ve been with us, but also serves to signal your transition to the next chapter of your life and career. Whatever your goals, whatever your desire in life, it is my hope that your studies with the visual arts program serve you well, that you continue to explore, search, question, and, it is also my hope that you keep making art. The Division of Fine Arts is extremely proud of all its graduates and this catalogue, and your presence in it, will serve as a reminder over the years that you were here, and that you made a contribution and a difference to the visual arts program. All the very best and please keep in touch

Perceived control among people with severe mental illness: a comparative study

Background Given the importance of perceived control to mental health and recovery, research is needed to determine strategies to increase perceived control for people with a mental illness. Aim Investigate the implications of a therapeutic recreation program on the perceived control of people with a mental illness. Method Participants of an intervention group (n = 27) and comparison group (n = 18) completed the Perceived Control Across Domains Scale at three time intervals. Subscale and total scores were analysed. Results and Discussion Significant variation occurred in the perceived control areas of substance use, personal cognition and personal empowerment. Implications A unique nurse led therapeutic recreation initiative, such as Recovery Camp, can improve and maintain facets of perceived control among people with mental illness