Having received post-registration
physical health-care training and working in inpatient settings was associated with greater reported
involvement. More positive attitudes were also evident for nurses who had attended post-registration
physical health training or had an additional adult/general nursing qualification. Overall, the attitudes
of mental health nurses towards physical health care appear positive and the willingness of nurses to
take on these roles needs to be recognized. However, there are areas where nurses in our sample were
more ambivalent such as cancer screening and smoking cessation.
KEY WORDS: attitudes, mental health nurses, physical health care, serious mental illness.