The effect of a contact-based intervention on attitudes and intended behaviors of nursing students toward people with mental illness: A quasi-experimental study.

Background And Aim: Although nursing students are professionally and ethically trained and educated to respect patients with a variety of medical and mental problems, they continue to exhibit negative attitudes and behaviors toward mental disease and patients with mental illness. The accumulated evidence indicates that contact-based intervention (CBI) is helpful in enhancing nursing students' attitudes and behaviors toward patients with mental illness. Although evidence found to support the CBI, culture and settings might play a significant role to decide its effectiveness.