Prevalence of auditory hallucinations in nurses in mental health

Seventy-nine nurses and student nurses working in the mental health field were asked to complete a questionnaire that asked about the prevalence of their experience of events that might be considered as examples of auditory hallucinations. Eighty-four per cent of the 55 nurses who returned the questionnaire described having experiences that might be described as auditory hallucinations. This level of prevalence is broadly consistent with other studies, and the difference between voices considered to indicate ‘schizophrenia’ and voices perceived as normal or unimportant is discussed. The relevance of these findings for the process of diagnosis and for the attitudes of nurses working in the mental health field towards voices reported by clients is highlighted.