Caring for good people is difficult enough; to care for people who are either aggressive or violent is even more difficult. This is what psychiatric nurses working in the psychiatric institution in which research was done are exposed to on a daily basis. The aim of the research was to explore and describe the lived experience by psychiatric nurses of aggression and violence from patients in a Gauteng psychiatric institution. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive, and contextual study design was utilised. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews and naïve sketches. Tesch’s (Creswell, 2004:256) method of open coding and an independent coder were utilised for data analysis. This study shed some light on the lived experience by psychiatric nurses of aggression and violence from patients in a Gauteng psychiatric institution. The findings show that the level of violence and aggression to which psychiatric nurses are exposed is overwhelming and the consequences are alarming. The contributing factors to this violence and aggression are: the mental status and the conditions in which patients are admitted; the staff shortage; the lack of support among the members of the multidisciplinary team (MDT); and the lack of structured and comprehensive orientation among newly appointed staff members. As a result, psychiatric nurses are emotionally, psychologically, and physically affected. They then respond with the following emotions and behaviour: fear, anger, frustration, despair, hopelessness and helplessness, substance abuse, absenteeism, retaliation and the development of an “I don’t care” attitude.

Background: The effects of daily abuse and hardship on the streets lead to poor mental health in children living on the streets, resulting in them choosing ineffective and self-destructive coping strategies that impact their physical health and overall sense of wellbeing. The facilitation of the mental health of children living on the streets who are subjected to daily threats to their survival is thus crucial.Objectives: The aim of this research was to explore and describe the lived experiences of children living on the streets of Hillbrow, Johannesburg.Method: The research design was qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual. A purposive sample was selected through a temporary shelter in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa and consisted of 14 male children living on the streets. Data were collected using drawings, in-depth phenomenological interviews and field notes. The central interview opening statement was: ‘Tell me about your life on the street’.Results: The results obtained indicated that children living on the streets are threatened, exploited and exposed to physical, sexual and emotional abuse on a daily basis by the community, the authorities and other street dwellers. This leads to feelings of sadness, fear, anxiety, misery, despair, hopelessness, helplessness and suicide ideation, which in turn lead to drug abuse and criminal activities. In contrast, positive feelings of sympathy for other children living on the streets emerged and these children also displayed perseverance, resilience and a striving for autonomy.Conclusion: Street life exposes children to a variety of experiences, both positive and negative. A striving after autonomy is clearly depicted by these children, who are able to tap into a range of responses, both on- and off-street.

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People&rsquo;s thoughts often focus on the suicide victim immediately after a completed suicide. Yet, the real victims of such an event are those individuals who are left behind to cope with the aftermath of the suicide. This phenomenological psychological study explored the lived experiences of late-adolescent suicide survivors, particularly those negative experiences that seemed to worsen in the weeks and months after a significant other&rsquo;s completed suicide. The research participants were five female late-adolescents (aged 17&ndash;22 years) who were recruited by means of purposive sampling at a South African tertiary institution and at youth camps. Data collection consisted of collage-facilitated, face-to-face phenomenological interviews. In addition, some participants provided documentary material in the form of personal diaries, letters and poems. The data analysis was conducted according to Giorgi&rsquo;s phenomenological method. The following salient experiences emerged during the data analysis: guilt, self-blame, blaming others or God, anger, loss or restriction of &lsquo;self&rsquo;, depression, suboptimal behavioural coping patterns, changes in relationship dynamics, and suicidality. The results of this study can be used by mental health professionals and caregivers to support adolescent suicide survivors effectively, in the midst of their mourning.<p><strong>Opsomming</strong></p><p>Mense se gedagtes fokus meestal op die selfmoordslagoffer onmiddellik na &rsquo;n voltooide selfmoord. Tog is die werklike slagoffers die persone wat agterbly om die lewe na die selfmoord te hanteer. Hierdie fenomenologies-sielkundige studie het die geleefde belewenisse van laat-adolessente oorlewendes ondersoek, spesifiek daardie negatiewe belewenisse wat skynbaar erger word in die weke en maande na &rsquo;n betekenisvolle ander se voltooide selfmoord. Die navorsingsdeelnemers was vyf vroulike laat-adolessente (17&ndash;22 jaar oud) wat gewerf is deur middel van doelgerigte selektering by &rsquo;n Suid-Afrikaanse tersi&ecirc;re instelling en jeugkampe. Data-insameling het geskied aan die hand van collage-gefasiliteerde, aangesig-tot-aangesig fenomenologiese onderhoude. Sommige deelnemers het addisionele dokumente in die vorm van persoonlike dagboeke, briewe en gedigte beskikbaar gestel vir data-analise. Die data is geanaliseer volgens Giorgi se fenomenologiese metode. Die volgende belewenisse het na vore getree tydens die data-analise: skuldgevoelens, self-blaam/spyt, blameer ander/God, woede, verlies/inperking van &lsquo;self&rsquo;, depressie, sub-optimale gedragshanteringspatrone, veranderinge in verhoudingsdinamika, en selfmoordneigings. Die resultate van hierdie studie kan deur geestesgesondheidwerkers en versorgers aangewend word om adolessente selfmoordagtergeblewenes effektief te ondersteun in die rouproses.</p><p><strong>How to cite this article:</strong> Hoffmann, W.A., Myburgh, C. &amp; Poggenpoel,...

BackgroundMeta-synthesis is used to generate and understand new insights from a qualitative perspective. Caregiving is associated with a range of physical and psychological symptoms. Caregivers bear the brunt of caregiving and this has become worse since the inception of de-institutionalisation, as more patients are discharged into the community under the care of their families.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to synthesise phenomenological qualitative studies and create a comprehensive chronicle of phenomena of family caregivers’ experiences of caring for relatives living with mental illness.MethodGoogle Scholar and different electronic databases, which included CINAHL, MEDLINE, EBSCO and PubMed, were searched using keywords for relevant studies published from 1994 to 2014. To obtain an in-depth view of caregivers’ lived experiences, a qualitative meta-synthesis was employed to review the findings of 10 studies.ResultsA total of 10 studies were included in the meta-synthesis. The family caregivers described their caregiving experiences under four themes: perceived responsibility of caregiving, experiences of emotional effect, experiences of support needs and experiences of changed perspective.ConclusionThe meta-synthesis revealed a lack of emotional coping among the family caregivers. This calls for robust family caregiver interventions to facilitate their mental health.

Critical care nurses have to adapt to a fast-paced and stressful environment by functioning within their own culture. The objective of this study was to explore and describe the culture of critical care nurses with the purpose of facilitating recognition of wholeness in critical care nurses. The study had a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, and contextual design. The ethnographic study included data triangulation of field notes written during 12 months of ethnographic observations, 13 interviews from registered nurses, and three completed diaries. Coding and analysis of data revealed patterns of behavior and interaction. The culture of critical care nurses was identified through patterns of patient adoption, armor display, despondency because of the demands to adjust, sibling-like teamwork, and non-support from management and medical doctors. An understanding of the complexity of these patterns of behavior and interaction within the critical care nursing culture is essential for transformation in the practice of critical care nursing.

Psychiatric nurses experience hostile behaviour by patients in a forensic ward as disempowering. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSE MANAGEMENT: Nurse managers can facilitate psychiatric nurses' empowerment by providing them access to: information, support, resources, opportunity and growth.

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