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Why go to the emergency department? Perspectives from persons with borderline personality disorder
Author(s) -
Vandyk Amanda,
Bentz Andrea,
Bissonette Sarah,
Cater Caitlyn
Publication year - 2019
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.12580
Subject(s) - emergency department , borderline personality disorder , thematic analysis , suicidal ideation , loneliness , psychological intervention , feeling , medicine , qualitative research , psychology , suicide prevention , psychiatry , poison control , medical emergency , social psychology , social science , sociology
Through this qualitative study, we explored frequent emergency department use by persons with borderline personality disorder from their perspective. Interpretive description guided the study design, and data were collected through interviews with six individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder who had at least 12 emergency department visits for reasons related to their mental illness within a 1‐year timeframe. Using thematic data analysis, we articulate the participants’ experiences through two broad themes: cyclic nature of emergency department use and coping skills and strategies. Unstable community management that leads to self‐ or crisis presentation to the emergency department often perpetuated emergency department use by our participants and the ensuing interventions aimed at acute stabilization. The participants identified a desire for human interaction and feelings of loneliness, failure of community resources (such as crisis lines or therapy), and safety concerns following suicidal ideation, self‐harm, or substance use as the main drivers for their emergency department visits. Our participants identified several potential strategies to protect them against unnecessary emergency department use and improve their health care overall. More work is needed to explore the viability and effectiveness of these suggestions.