Few nurses are investigating stigma toward mental illness, and fewer are testing stigma
interventions. Historically, nursing research related to stigma has been qualitative and nonexperimental. Nonexperimental and qualitative methods of inquiry are important and yield valuable information about the complex phenomenon of stigma; however, findings from these studies do not provide strong empirical evidence for stigma interventions. Levels of evidence associated with evidence-based practice guidelines designate qualitative and nonexperimental methods as weaker support for practice change than experimental studies (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2005; Oxford Centre for
Evidence-Based Medicine, 2001). Nevertheless, qualitative research captures unique perspectives and information about phenomena that were previously unknown to nurses. Findings from qualitative and nonexperimental research can help nurses design interventions and provide a foundation for future intervention studies that use experimental design. For a description of nursing studies on stigma, see Table 1.