Premium
An investigation of aged care mental health knowledge of Queensland aged care nurses
Author(s) -
Hsu Mei Chi,
Moyle Wendy,
Creedy Debra,
Venturato Lorraine
Publication year - 2005
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/j.1440-0979.2005.00350.x
Subject(s) - dementia , mental health , context (archaeology) , medicine , aged care , mental illness , long term care , health care , gerontology , ethnic group , psychiatry , intervention (counseling) , gerontological nursing , nursing , psychology , paleontology , disease , pathology , sociology , anthropology , economics , biology , economic growth
Older people are at risk for developing psychiatric disorders and require highly skilled and knowledgeable nurse practitioners to provide early recognition and intervention of psychiatric problems. This study sought to identify the aged care mental health knowledge of registered nurses (RNs) employed in long‐term aged care and test the validity and reliability of a North American tool for use in an Australian context. The Mary Starke Harper Ageing Knowledge Exam (MSHAKE) was sent to RNs ( n = 350) in 70 long‐term care facilities (LTCF) in Queensland, Australia, and 107 surveys were returned (30.5% response). Participants were found to be unprepared for the reality of caring for the mental health needs of an older population and to have knowledge deficits related to suicide, prevalence of mental illness, mental health and ethnicity, and a number of issues regarding dementia.