Education in primary prevention in psychiatric-mental health nursing for the baccalaureate student

The concept of primary prevention is discussed, as it has traditionally and recently been used in reference to mental health and mental illness, as an introduction to the description of a course concerned with primary prevention in psychiatric-mental health nursing. The course, developed for senior baccalaureate nursing students, included both a didactic and a clinical component, is reviewed and the evaluation outcomes are discussed. The paper concludes with a call for nursing to enhance its concern for prevention of mental illness and promotion of mental health.