Nurses’ attitudes towards family importance in psychiatric care in a selected psychiatric hospital in the Western Cape Province

Abstract

The family is regarded as a valued resource in the psychiatric care of mental health care users to promote recovery. However, nurses working in psychiatric care have varying attitudes about the importance of the family in the care of the mental health care user. The purpose of this study was to describe nurses’ attitudes towards the family’s importance in psychiatric care in a selected psychiatric hospital in the Western Cape Province. A quantitative descriptive survey study was conducted using a selfadministered questionnaire which included the Family Importance in Nursing Care- Nurses’ Attitude (FINC-NA) scale. The setting was the biggest psychiatric hospital in the Western Cape which employs approximately 488 mental health nurses in different wards.