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Emergency department staff attitudes towards mental health consumers: A literature review and thematic content analysis
Author(s) -
Clarke Diana,
Usick Rachel,
Sanderson Ana,
GilesSmith Lori,
Baker John
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international journal of mental health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.911
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1447-0349
pISSN - 1445-8330
DOI - 10.1111/inm.12040
Subject(s) - mental health , thematic analysis , emergency department , psychological intervention , content analysis , psychology , stigma (botany) , medicine , nursing , psychiatry , qualitative research , sociology , social science
Abstract Visits to the emergency department ( ED ) for mental health reasons account for 10–15% of all visits. Consumers of mental health ED services, however, report that they often feel sent to the back of the queue and that their mental health concerns are not taken seriously, suggesting that societal stigma has impacted their care in the ED . In this study, we systematically explore the research concerning the attitudes of ED professional staff towards those who present with issues related to mental health. Four themes emerge from the literature: consumer perspectives, whose tenor is generally one of negativity; staff‐reported attitudes and influencing factors, such as age, experience, and confidence in working with mental health presentations; the environmental climate of the ED, which might not be conducive to good mental health care; and interventions that have been used to evaluate changes in attitudes.