Reducing mental health stigma in nursing education: the ReSPECT curriculum model

Abstract

Interpersonal stigma related to the attitudes and behaviour of nursing professionals towards mental health negatively affects people with severe mental disorder. Through a proactive approach, educational institutions have a fundamental role in addressing this stigma from the early stages of nursing students’ training, fostering quality, recovery-oriented care. To this end, various interventions can be implemented that, combined, could reduce stigma in health sciences students. An example of this are the interventions integrated into the “ReSPECT model for stigma reduction in the curriculum”: critical reflection, the development of communication skills, contact with people with lived experience, exemplary role models, the clinical application of what has been learned, and the transformation of structural barriers. These strategies can be incorporated through educational innovations in nursing programmes, among which high-fidelity clinical simulation with a standardized patient stands out. To move towards a mental-health-understanding society, it is essential to maintain a constant commitment to improving nursing education and combining interventions to reduce stigma.