What makes an admission to a mental health unit a more or less traumatic experience, and what role do nurses play in this experience? A study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing focuses on a question that is as sensitive as it is little explored: the perception of quality of care as a factor that can make a big difference in mental health care.
When healthcare is experienced as dignified, safe and collaborative, the feeling of having been coerced and humiliated decreases significantly, according to the conclusions of the study conducted by the NURSEARCH group of the Faculty of Nursing of the University of Barcelona.
The study, which analysed the experience of 255 people admitted to twelve acute mental health units throughout Spain, is part of the project Therapeutic Space Reserved (RTS_MHNursing_Spain).
It is led by Professor Antonio R. Moreno Poyato, from the UB's Faculty of Nursing, and it is funded by the Carlos III Health Institute and the Official College of Nurses of Barcelona (COIB). The study data were collected just before patients left the hospital, and both the perceived quality of care and the subjective experience of coercion, humiliation and fear were assessed.
