RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Psychiatric nurses play a crucial role in treating and supporting adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in China. However, few studies have explored their experiences and challenges. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this qualitative study was to describe the challenges experienced by psychiatric nurses when working with adolescents having NSSI behaviors. METHODS: This was a descriptive qualitative study using phenomenological approach. 18 psychiatric nurses from psychiatric wards were recruited from a tertiary hospital from Changsha, Hunan province, China. In-depth interview was performed for each participant collecting information about their feelings and experiences taking care of NSSI adolescents. ATLAS.ti 8 was used to enter data and perform thematic analysis following the six-phased process described by Braun and Clarke. RESULTS: Two main themes and five sub-themes were summarized in this study. Nurses experienced both (1) Internal challenges (Lacking knowledge and skills to deal with NSSI adolescents and Feeling hard and stressful working with NSSI adolescents) and (2) External barriers (Unrealistic high expectations from family and schools, Uncooperative parents and Little help from communities and schools). CONCLUSIONS: Psychiatric nurses had to face with their own negative feelings, insufficient knowledge and skills, alongside with pressures and little help from family, schools and communities when working with NSSI adolescents. Targeted training programs of treating NSSI adolescents and their supporting systems be performed in nurses, furthermore, family, schools and societies should also be raised.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: To facilitate mental health service planning for nurses, data on the patterns of mental health service use (MHSU) among nurses are needed. However, MHSU among Chinese nurses has seldom been studied. Our study aimed to explore the rate of MHSU among Chinese nurses and to identify the factors associated with MHSU. METHODS: A self-designed anonymous questionnaire was used in this study. MHSU was assessed by the question, "Have you ever used any kind of mental health services, such as mental health outpatient services or psychotherapies, when you felt that your health was suffering due to stress, insomnia, or other reasons?" The answer to the question was binary (yes or no). Sleep quality, burnout, and depressive symptoms were assessed using the Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index , the Chinese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey and the two-item Patient Health Questionnaire, respectively. Chi-square tests and binary logistic regression were used for univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: A total of 10.94% (301/2750) of the nurses reported MHSU. 10.25% (282/2750) of the nurses had poor sleep quality, burnout and depressive symptoms, and only 26.95% of these nurses reported MHSU. Very poor sleep quality (OR 9.36, 95% CI [5.38-16.29]), mid-level professional title (OR 1.48, 95% CI [1.13-1.93]) and depressive symptoms (OR 1.66, 95% CI [1.28-2.13]) were independent factors associated with MHSU. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the nurses have experienced burnout, poor sleep quality or depressive symptoms and the MHSU rate among them was low. Interventions to improve the mental health of nurses and to promote the use of mental health services are needed.