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A phenomenological exploration of the lived experience of mental health nurses who care for clients with enduring mental health problems who are parents
Author(s) -
MADDOCKS S.,
JOHNSON S.,
WRIGHT N.,
STICKLEY T.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.69
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1365-2850
pISSN - 1351-0126
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2850.2010.01582.x
Subject(s) - mental health , thematic analysis , nursing , psychology , mental health care , lived experience , health care , medicine , qualitative research , psychiatry , psychotherapist , sociology , social science , economics , economic growth
Accessible summary• Among people with mental health problems, those who are parents may not have their needs met, especially when receiving inpatient care. • There is little research regarding the needs of this group. • An integrated model of care is required.Abstract This paper is a report of a study to explore mental health nurses' lived experience of caring for adults with enduring mental health problems who are parents. With the advent of community care, more people with enduring mental health problems have contact with their families and are parents. Ultimately, rehabilitative strategies for parents with mental health problems are focused towards functioning effectively within their own family unit and hopefully enabling them to fulfil their parental role. Mental health nurses working with this client group have competing demands to reconcile. For example, advocating for client rights versus protecting the child and supporting the family. This phenomenological study took place within adult mental health services in the UK. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with six nurses. A thematic analysis was conducted on the data. Five themes were identified from the data: support, remaining impartial, addressing the specific needs of a client who is a parent, models of care and interagency communication. The findings suggest that neither a family‐centred nor a person‐centred approach to care completely meets the needs of this client group. An integrated model of care is proposed that applies person‐centred and family‐centred approaches in tandem.