Forensic psychiatric nursing: a literature review and thematic analysis of staff-patient interaction

Abstract

In Denmark the increasing number of forensic mental health patients has led to prioritized services, including the area of nursing; however, this field is subject to sparse research. The aim of this study was to review existing research literature and in doing so investigate what characterizes forensic mental health staff interaction with forensic mental health inpatients and furthermore to investigate what significance these staff characteristics have for the inpatients. The literature review spans the period September 1997 to January 2009 and was based on a systematic keyword combination search in the following databases: CINAHL, CSB, PsycINFO, Scopus, Pubmed, MEDLINE and Sociological Abstracts. The articles were categorized using a literature matrix and analysed using content analysis. Seventeen quantitative and qualitative research studies were analysed. The results show that the interaction between forensic staff and forensic inpatients is characterized by two overriding themes: parentalistic & behaviour-changing care and relational & personal quality-dependent care. Only a few of the findings represent a clear account of how the interactional characteristics impact on the forensic inpatient. The conclusion is that no clear account of the patient impact issue can be reached at this point and that further investigation needs to take place.

To be Strategically Struggling against Resignation: The Lived Experience of Being Cared for in Forensic Psychiatric Care

“…This is in accordance to Meehan et al (2006), who clarifies the need for a balance between security and effective therapy and a need for education and professional development for staff. We argue that one main problem is that forensic psychiatric care is characterized by being paternalistic and focuses on changing behavior, which Gildberg et al (2010) also describe. In both their and our study, we can see how the essential care is controlling, observing, confronting, and paternalistic in relation to the patients' behaviour.…”

“…They describe the use of time from the patients' perspective of forensic psychiatric care and found that less than 20 minutes per day was spent on treatment, 1.5 hours a day was spent on structured activities, 4.5 hours on daily routines, and almost 9 hours was spent on unstructured activities. Gildberg, Elverdam, and Hounsgaard (2010) have reviewed existing research literature on forensic psychiatric care with a focus on staff interaction with inpatients. They call attention to the low number of studies using patients as participants, which Coffey (2006) also highlights.…”

Reducing or Increasing Violence in Forensic Care: A Qualitative Study of Inpatient Experiences

“…They aim to describe the experience of being a patient in forensic care (e.g. Dickens et al, 2013;Gildberg, Elverdam, & Hounsgaard, 2010;Hörberg et al, 2012;Meehan et al, 2006). The aim of the present paper was to specifically examine the experiences of forensic inpatients that have decreased their risk of becoming violent in forensic care.…”

Psychiatry, a Secular Discipline in a Postsecular World? A Review

“…The abstract and full text readings were approached with the following inclusion criterion in mind: Does this article directly or indirectly report, contain, or investigate topics relating to the aim of this article? (Gildberg et al 2010) In line with the understanding of the secular as a plural term, further criteria for inclusion were added: diversity of geographical (contextual) origin and diversity of approach. Seeing the postsecular as a sociological development over the last three to four decades, a diversity of year of publication was sought.…”

“…A literature search was conducted with the keywords and the keywords variables shown in Table 1 and was based on the aim and background of this article (Gildberg et al 2010;Green et al 2006). The search was done in the databases ATLA Religion, PubMed, Scopus, and SocINDEX.…”