Handover, or the communication of patient information between clinicians, is a fundamental component of health care. Psychiatric settings are dynamic environments relying on timely and accurate communication to plan care and manage risk. Crisis assessment and treatment teams are the primary interface between community and mental health services in many Australian and international health services, facilitating access to assessment, treatment, and admission to hospital. No previous research has investigated the handover between crisis assessment and treatment teams and inpatient psychiatric units, despite the importance of handover to care planning. The aim of the present study was to identify the nature and types of information transferred during these handovers, and to explore how these guides initial care planning. An observational, exploratory study design was used. A 20-item handover observation tool was used to observe 19 occasions of handover. A prospective audit was undertaken on clinical documentation arising from the admission. Clinical information, including psychiatric history and mental state, were handed over consistently; however, information about consumer preferences was reported less consistently. The present study identified a lack of attention to consumer preferences at handover, despite the current focus on recovery-oriented models for mental health care, and the centrality of respecting consumer preferences within the recovery paradigm.
lished an editorial outlining a number of initiatives promoting openness and transparency in mental health nursing science (Gray, 2018). One of these was the introduction of registered reports. The JPM was the first nursing journal to adopt this innovative approach to publishing research. Adopted by over 250 journals, registered reports emphasize the importance of the research question and the rigour of the proposed methodology because the protocol (part 1) is subject to peer review before data collection. As long as the authors comply with the registered methodology, the journal agrees to publish the results (part 2). Registered reports are intended to drive out questionable research practices that include selective reporting of results, and publication bias. It has been positive to see a number of mental health nurses engaging with registered reports and publishing part one of their research in JPM (Moyo et al., 2020). It is with dismay that we have recently been alerted to the fact that the JPM has decided to stop publishing registered reports (author guidelines checked 31st August 2020). The decision was seemingly made unilaterally by the editorial team and not discussed with the Journal editorial board. It seems to us that JPM is positioning itself in opposition to the values of the open science movement and this is extremely concerning to those of us working in mental health nursing as academics and clinicians. We hope the current editorial team will reconsider their decision.
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