Publication: Nurses’ knowledge and attitude towards depression in Hospital Pakar USM
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Date
2025-08
Authors
Razak, Anis Syafiqa Abdul
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Abstract
Depression is a common yet often underrecognized mental health condition that
significantly affects patient outcomes. Nurses, as frontline healthcare providers, play a
crucial role in identifying and managing patients with depression. However, inadequate
knowledge and negative attitudes among nurses may hinder early detection and
appropriate care. This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge and attitudes toward
depression among nurses at Hospital Pakar USM and to determine whether there is an
association between these two variables. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving
304 nurses using a validated self-administered questionnaire. The instrument used in this
study was the Depression Knowledge and Attitude Questionnaire adopted from Ahmed
et al. (2024), consisting of 11 knowledge items and 18 attitude items. Descriptive statistics
were used to evaluate the overall levels of knowledge and attitude, while a chi-square test
was used to examine the association between the two. Results revealed that although all
respondents had heard about depression, only (32.2%) of respondents demonstrated good
knowledge, while (67.8%) of respondents had poor knowledge. In terms of attitude,
(81.6%) of the respondents displayed a poor attitude toward depression. Common
misconceptions about causes, treatments, and the nature of depression were observed.
The chi-square test showed no statistically significant association between knowledge
and attitude (χ² = 0.382, p = 0.537). These findings indicate that while awareness is high,
both knowledge and attitude remain inadequate. Moreover, the lack of significant
association suggests that improving knowledge alone may not be enough to shift attitudes.
Therefore, continuous mental health training, education programs, and stigma-reduction efforts are recommended to enhance nurses’ competence and compassionate care in
mental health settings.