Mental health nurses' perspectives of people who self‐harm

Abstract

Self‐harm is a significant health issue, a leading cause of serious injury and is an indicator of psychological distress. Nurses play an important role in providing therapeutic care to people who self‐harm. The aim of this study was to explore mental health nurses’ (MHNs) experience of working with people who self‐harm. Data were collected using semi‐structured interviews and transcribed verbatim from 14 MHNs across Australia. Elo and Kyngäs’ inductive content analysis was used to extract meaning from the data which is reported in accordance with the consolidated criteria for qualitative research guidelines (COREQ). Two categories were identified which captured the MHNs’ experiences of working with people who self‐harm: (i) Nurses’ level of preparedness to work with people who self‐harm; and (ii) The healthcare system. Several sub‐categories were identified. Attitudes, knowledge, skills, and support from others influenced their experience of working with people who self‐harm. Clinical and life experience, undergraduate programme preparation and ongoing education all contributed towards developing therapeutic care with this group of patients. Nurses are vital in the care of people who self‐harm and an accurate understanding of the functions of self‐harm focuses therapeutic interactions to manage psychological distress and reduce further self‐harm and lessen the risk of suicide.

Experiences of nursing care for patients who self‐harm and suggestions for future practices: The perspectives of emergency care nurses

“…The relationship and interaction with medical staff are essential for patients' psychological health throughout their treatment trajectory and following discharge (Perboell et al 2015). Several studies have explored how nurses perceive providing care to patients who selfharm and implications of their attitude towards this patient population (Koning et al 2018;McGough et al 2021;Rayner et al 2019). Implications include the development of several standardized measures to assess nursing staffs attitudinal beliefs such as frustrations, anger and hostility (Diana et al 2020;Rayner et al 2019).…”

“…2019; McGough et al . 2021; Rayner et al . 2019), there has been limited research on the implications of the current practice in suggestions towards informing ways of organizing future care in EDs.…”

“…Implications include the development of several standardized measures to assess nursing staffs attitudinal beliefs such as frustrations, anger and hostility (Diana et al 2020;Rayner et al 2019). Some studies recommend improvement of the educational preparedness of nurses and clinical supervision for improving confidence in providing care to patients who self-harm in EDs (Koning et al 2018;McGough et al 2021;Rayner et al 2019;True et al 2021). Despite the well-established need for educational improvement and training of ED nurses, also in ways on how to respond to people who self-harm (Koning et al 2018;Van Der Linden et al 2019;McGough et al 2021;Rayner et al 2019), there has been limited research on the implications of the current practice in suggestions towards informing ways of organizing future care in EDs.…”

An Integrative Model of In-Hospital and Out-of-Hospital Nursing Care for Non-Suicidal Self-Injury: A Narrative Review

“…However, in some non-psychiatric departments such as the Emergency Department and Trauma Surgery that may also receive such patients, nurses often ignore or cannot adequately deal with the mental health problems of patients due to lack of time or psychological nursing experience [ 85 ], which can be manifested as decreased nurse–patient communication, low communication efficiency, or even lack of communication [ 86 ]. Several studies in recent years have assessed nurses’ attitudes towards “caring for patients with NSSI” and proposed several recommendations, such as improving nurses’ confidence and ability to provide care for patients with NSSI from the perspective of professional education and clinical supervision [ 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 ]. However, the number of studies in this area is still limited, and the effects of the proposed recommendations need to be further evaluated in clinical practice.…”

A Necessary Pain: A Literature Review of Young People’s Experiences of Self-Harm

“…Nurses in general report that having knowledge about the functioning of self-harm and by that being prepared when meeting people who self-harm is important in nursing and helps when interacting with them. More knowledge is needed to improve understanding of the function of self-harm for the individual in order to develop a range of skills to offer the best possible care and aid in prevention and harm-reduction (Lindgren et al, 2018;McGough et al, 2021;Morrissey et al, 2018;Rissanen et al, 2012;Shaw & Sandy, 2016). Understanding the meaning of self-harm can help nurses collaborate with people who self-harm to achieve positive healthcare outcomes (Doyle et al, 2017).…”