article · INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH AND PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH
Clinical nursing students face intense academic and clinical pressures, making mental health hygiene critical. An assessment of 177 nursing students at Edo State University revealed a pronounced gap between their understanding of mental health and their daily routines. Participants demonstrated high knowledge of mental health hygiene, achieving an 86.3 percent score, and recognised that inadequate sleep, stress, and substance misuse damage psychological well-being. However, actual practice of mental hygiene was low, averaging 48 percent. While resting, getting adequate sleep, and discussing stress with family or peers were common coping strategies, seeking professional counselling was practiced the least. Furthermore, demographic factors showed no significant association with these hygiene behaviours. Addressing this shortfall requires universities to implement structured mental health promotion programmes and improve student access to professional counselling services.
Nursing students carry heavy academic and clinical workloads, making self-care essential for their well-being. Although students understand what harms mental health, a low rate of professional help-seeking indicates barriers to care. Identifying this discrepancy helps university administrators and health educators design supportive campus interventions that translate mental health awareness into daily protective behaviours.
The findings can inform university welfare departments and health software developers seeking to design campus wellness programmes or targeted digital support interventions. Because the study is descriptive survey research rather than a validated product or intervention trial, it sits at an early research stage. Any real-world adoption would first require developing and testing structured counselling platforms or preventive support services tailored to healthcare trainees.
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Mental health hygiene is essential for maintaining psychological well-being and preventing mental health problems, particularly among nursing students who are exposed to demanding academic and clinical responsibilities. This study assessed the knowledge and practice of mental health hygiene among nursing students at Edo State University, Iyamho, Nigeria. A descriptive cross sectional survey design was adopted. The study involved 177 clinical nursing students selected from a population of 318 using stratified proportionate sampling. Data were collected using a self-developed instrument titled Questionnaire on Knowledge and Practice of Mental Health Hygiene (QKPMHH). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 at a significance level of p < 0.05. Findings revealed that the respondents had excellent of knowledge of mental health hygiene with a score of 86.3%. Students recognized that poor sleep patterns, stress, and substance abuse can negatively affect mental well-being. However, the practice of mental health hygiene was low, with an overall mean score of 0.48, yielding 48% practice level. Adequate sleep and rest (0.74) and discussing stress with friends or family (0.68) were the most practiced behaviors, while seeking professional counselling was the least practiced (0.19). Chi-square analysis showed no significant association between sociodemographic variables and mental health hygiene practices (p > 0.05). The study recommends the integration of structured mental health promotion programs and improved access to counselling services within universities to encourage the consistent practice of healthy mental health behaviors among nursing students.
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DOI: 10.56201/ijhpr.vol.11.no4.2026.pg140.149
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