Effect of brief training on mental health knowledge and attitudes of nurses and nurses' aides in a general hospital.

A six-week psychiatric nursing training program for professional nurses (N equals 15) and nurses' aides (N equals 14) in a stage general hospital setting resulted in significant improvement in both training groups on psychiatric nursing knowledge. No statistically significant change in mental health attitudes was found on the Opinions about Mental Illness (OMI) scale in the nurse group but a significant reduction in social restrictiveness was revealed in the nurses' aide group. No significant change in knowledge or attitudes was found in a matched control group of nurses' aides (N equals 14).