276 research outputs found
Medicine, madness and murderers: the context of English forensic psychiatric hospitals
Approach: We used qualitative data collection (interviews and focus groups with staff and site visits to English forensic psychiatry hospitals) and our analysis was informed by Lefebvreâs writings on space.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to add to our understanding of context by shedding light on the relationship between context and organisational actorsâ abilities to resolve ongoing challenges.
Findings: Responses to ongoing challenges were both constrained and facilitated by the context, which was negotiated and co-produced by the actors involved. Various (i.e. societal and professional) dimensions of context interacted to create tensions, which resulted in changes in service configuration. These changes were reconciled, to some extent, via discourse. Despite some resolution, the co-production of context preserved contradictions which mean that ongoing challenges were modified, but not resolved entirely.
Value: The paper highlights the importance of viewing context as co-produced in a continuous manner. This helps us to delineate and understand its dynamic nature and its relationship with the everyday actions and beliefs of the organisational actors concerned
Blue remembered skills : mental health awareness training for police officers
The Bradley Report (Bradley, 2009) has raised a number of
important questions regarding the treatment of individuals who are experiencing mental health problems and find themselves in the criminal justice system. One of the key recommendations is that professional staff working across
criminal justice organisations should receive increased training in this area. This paper explores the experiences of two professionals, a mental health nurse and a social
worker, involved in providing training for police officers. It goes on to consider the most effective models of training for police officers
A systematic PRISMA review of individuals with autism spectrum disorder in secure psychiatric care : prevalence, treatment, risk assessment and other clinical considerations
Purpose â Patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with specific assessment, specific difficulties, needs and therapeutic issues and therefore are a challenging group for forensic services.
Given the challenge that individuals with ASD present to forensic services, the suggested increase in the
number of this group within this setting and the relatively little amount of research which suggests they face a
number of difficulties within the prison environment, the purpose of this paper is to identify and review all the
studies which have been carried out investigating any aspect of ASD in relation to secure hospital settings.
Design/methodology/approach â Seven internet-based bibliographic databases were used for the present review. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews andMeta-Analyses guidelines.
Findings â A total of 12 studies were included in this review; 3 looked at the prevalence of ASD in secure psychiatric hospitals. One study evaluated the clinical utility of the AQ screening tool to assess self-reported autistic traits in secure psychiatric settings. Three explored any type of characteristics of patients with ASD
detained in secure psychiatric hospitals. One study investigated the experiences or quality of life of patients
with an ASD detained in secure psychiatric care. Two studies investigated awareness, knowledge and/or
views regarding patients with ASD held by staff working within secure psychiatric hospitals. Lastly, three
studies (one of which was also included in the prevalence category above) looked at the effectiveness of
interventions or treatment of patients with ASD in secure psychiatric hospitals. Clinical recommendations and
future research directions are discussed.
Originality/value â To the authorâs knowledge, this is the first review to explore what research has been carried out looking specifically at patients with ASD in relation to secure forensic settings.
Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder, Secure hospital, Aspergerâs syndrome, High secure psychiatric hospital, HSPC, Secure forensic setting
Mental health care and resistance to fascism
Mental health nurses have a critical stake in resisting the right-wing ideology of British fascism. Particularly concerning is the contemporary effort of the British National Party (BNP) to gain credibility and electoral support by the strategic re-packaging of a racist and divisive political manifesto. Evidence that some public sector workers are affiliated with the BNP has relevance for nursing at a series of levels, not least the incompatibility of party membership with a requirement of the Professional Code to avoid discrimination. Progressive advances, though, need to account for deep rooted institutionalized racism in the discourse and practice of healthcare services. The anomalous treatment of black people within mental health services, alongside racial abuse experienced by ethnic minority staff, is discussed in relation to the concept of race as a powerful social category and construction. The murder of the mentally ill and learning disabled in Nazi Germany, as an adjunct of racial genocide, is presented as an extreme example where professional ethics was undermined by dominant political ideology. Finally, the complicity of medical and nursing staff in the state sanctioned, bureaucratic, killing that characterized the Holocaust is revisited in the context of ethical repositioning for contemporary practice and praxis
Restraining Good Practice: Reviewing evidence of the effects of restraint from the perspective of service users and mental health professionals in the United Kingdom (UK)
Safeguarding, balancing the concept of risk with the need for public protection and its implication for the lives of individuals, is an important facet of contemporary mental health care. Integral to safeguarding is the protection of human rights; the right to live free from torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, and having the right to liberty, security, respect and privacy. Professionals are required to recognise all of these rights when delivering care to vulnerable people. In the United Kingdom (UK) there has been growing public concern regarding abusive practices in institutions, with a number of unacceptable methods of restraint being identified as a feature of care, particularly in mental health care. In keeping with the service user movement, and following a review of the literature, this paper discusses the evidence regarding restraint from the perspectives of service users and professionals within mental health services and considers the implications for future practice and research. In reviewing the literature findings revealed restraint can be a form of abuse, itâs inappropriate use often being a consequence of fear, neglect and lack of using de-escalation techniques. Using restraint in this way can have negative implications for the well-being of service users and mental health professionals alike
Depression in multicultural Australia: Policies, research and services
BACKGROUND: Depression is one of the leading causes of disability in Australia. The cultural and linguistic diversity of the Australian population poses a significant challenge to health policy development, service provision, professional education, and research. The purpose of this study is to explore the extent to which the fact of cultural and linguistic diversity has influenced the formulation of mental health policy, the conduct of mental health research and the development of mental health services for people with depression from ethnic minority communities. METHODS: The methods used for the different components of the study included surveys and document-based content and thematic analyses. RESULTS: Policy is comprehensive but its translation into programs is inadequate. Across Australia, there were few specific programs on depression in ethnic minority communities and they are confronted with a variety of implementation difficulties. The scope and scale of research on depression in Ethnic minority communities is extremely limited. CONCLUSION: A key problem is that the research that is necessary to provide evidence for policy and service delivery is lacking. If depression in Ethnic minority communities is to be addressed effectively the gaps between policy intentions and policy implementation, and between information needs for policies and practice and the actual research that is being done, have to be narrowed
Planning for incapacity by people with bipolar disorder under the Mental Capacity Act 2005
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 provided a variety of legal mechanisms for people to plan for periods of incapacity for decisions relating to personal care, medical treatment, and financial matters. Little research has however been done to determine the degree to which these are actually implemented, and the approach to such advance planning by service users and professionals.
This paper looks at the use of advance planning by people with bipolar disorder, using qualitative and quantitative surveys both of people with bipolar disorder and psychiatrists. The study finds that the mechanisms are under-used in this group, despite official policy in support of them, largely because of a lack of knowledge about them among service users, and there is considerable confusion among service users and professionals alike as to how the mechanisms operate. Recording is at best inconsistent, raising questions as to whether the mechanisms will be followed
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