Attitudes towards homeless people and the mentally ill

Who am I? 

My name is Anders Nordsveen, I'm 36 years old and a nursing student at VID in Oslo, Norway. What I have been left with after the seminar and meeting people struggling with drug use is the prejudice that usually exists towards this group of people.

In the international code of ethics for nurses presented by International Council of Nurses it is written that everyone shall be met by acceptance and an open attitude, with no prejudice towards the person they are meeting. This is especially important when meeting people who are addicted to drugs and the homeless.This is important because the people in these groups have an expectation to be met by prejudice and bad attitudes towards themselves. This can again lead them to not using the healthcare options that are provided and can then lead to poor health. This is especially true when working in mental health.

Creating good relations between health care provider and the users is very important. The helper needs to have empathy and to be able to see the situation from the users point of view. This means that some times when working with the homeless or people addicted to drugs you have to go the extra mile to create and maintain a good relation. And in this way make it easier for the users to accept the help they need.

The most important thing I have learned from this course is to leave your prejudices at the door when working with the mentally ill, have an open mind, and that creating a good relation is the most important way to recovery.