Knowledge and Attitude of Nurses Regarding ECT among Staff at a Psychiatric Hospital

Although widely used in treatment of some mental illnesses, electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) still receives negative reactions, even from medical and nursing communities. The purpose of the present study was to determine the knowledge and attitude of the nursing staff at Shahid Beheshti Psychiatric Hospital in Kerman toward ECT, and their method of care for patients under ECT treatment. 80 staff members of the spoken hospital were the subjects of the study. Reviewed by an aid of a questionnaire developed by the researcher, the staff’s method of care was observed before, during, and after 80 consecutively conducted ECTs. The results demonstrated that most subjects were female (78.7%), married (73.8%), under 31 years of age (46.3%), and held a B.A. (or higher) degrees (51.3%). The subjects collectively responded correctly to 47.8% of the questions 67.3% was reached on the attitude test score. A comparative analysis of the attitude scores based on demographic features, showed a statistically significant difference in terms of age, sex, and working experience, so that staff members who were older and had more working experience obtained lower attitude scores. The nurses’ limited knowledge of ECT and their slightly negative attitude toward it calls for ECT education for nurses.