Psychedelic Treatments for Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of Patient Experiences in Qualitative Studies.

INTRODUCTION: Interest in the use of psychedelic substances for the treatment of mental disorders is increasing. Processes that may affect therapeutic change are not yet fully understood. Qualitative research methods are increasingly used to examine patient accounts; however, currently, no systematic review exists that synthesizes these findings in relation to the use of psychedelics for the treatment of mental disorders. OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of salient themes in patient experiences of psychedelic treatments for mental disorders, presenting both common and diverging elements in patients' accounts, and elucidating how these affect the treatment process. METHODS: We systematically searched the PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Embase databases for English-language qualitative literature without time limitations. Inclusion criteria were qualitative research design; peer-reviewed studies; based on verbalized patient utterances; and a level of abstraction or analysis of the results. Thematic synthesis was used to analyze and synthesize results across studies. A critical appraisal of study quality and methodological rigor was conducted using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP). RESULTS: Fifteen research articles, comprising 178 patient experiences, were included. Studies exhibited a broad heterogeneity in terms of substance, mental disorder, treatment context, and qualitative methodology. Substances included psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), ibogaine, ayahuasca, ketamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Disorders included anxiety, depression, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders. While the included compounds were heterogeneous in pharmacology and treatment contexts, patients reported largely comparable experiences across disorders, which included phenomenological analogous effects, perspectives on the intervention, therapeutic processes and treatment outcomes. Comparable therapeutic processes included insights, altered self-perception, increased connectedness, transcendental experiences, and an expanded emotional spectrum, which patients reported contributed to clinically and personally relevant responses. CONCLUSIONS: This review demonstrates how qualitative research of psychedelic treatments can contribute to distinguishing specific features of specific substances, and carry otherwise undiscovered implications for the treatment of specific psychiatric disorders.

Tinker, tailor, deliberate. An ethnographic inquiry into the institutionalized practice of bar-coded medication administration technology by nurses.

AIM: Explore the practice of nurses working with bar-coded medication administration technology, to gain insight in the impact it has on their work. BACKGROUND: The widespread presumption of using Barcoded Medication Administration Technology (BCMA) is that it will effectively reduce the number of errors in the dispensing of medication to patients. However, it remains unclear whether this is the case in actual practice. METHOD: Two distinct but overlapping research methodologies of Institutional Ethnography and Praxeology were combined as a means to uncover the highly complex practice of BCMA by nurses. RESULTS: The implementation of BCMA creates a series of problems leading to nurses constantly tinkering with the technology. At the same time they are continuously deliberating the best ways of tailoring the BCMA to each of their patients. CONCLUSION: Although working with BCMA is often misconstrued as being mindless and automatic, conforming to the technology, this tinkering with BCMA in fact always entails thorough deliberation by nurses.

Is technology the best medicine? Three practice theoretical perspectives on medication administration technologies in nursing.

Even though it is often presumed that the use of technology like medication administration technology is both safer and more effective, the importance of nurses' know-how is not to be underestimated. In this article, we accordingly try to argue that nurses' labor, including their different forms of knowledge, must play a crucial role in the development, implementation and use of medication administration technology. Using three different theoretical perspectives ('heuristic lenses') and integrating this with our own ethnographic research, we will explore how nursing practices change through the use of medication technology. Ultimately, we will argue that ignoring (institutional) complexity and the various types of important knowledge that nurses have, will seriously complicate the implementation of medication administration technology.

The experiences of people with dementia and intellectual disabilities with surveillance technologies in residential care.

BACKGROUND: Surveillance technology such as tag and tracking systems and video surveillance could increase the freedom of movement and consequently autonomy of clients in long-term residential care settings, but is also perceived as an intrusion on autonomy including privacy. OBJECTIVE: To explore how clients in residential care experience surveillance technology in order to assess how surveillance technology might influence autonomy. SETTING: Two long-term residential care facilities: a nursing home for people with dementia and a care facility for people with intellectual disabilities. METHODS: Ethnographic field study. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: The boards representing clients and relatives/proxies of the clients were informed of the study and gave their written consent. The clients' assent was sought through a special information leaflet. At any time clients and/or proxy were given the option to withdraw from the study. The research protocol was also reviewed by a medical ethics committee. FINDINGS: Our findings show a pattern of two themes: (1) coping with new spaces which entailed clients: wandering around, getting lost, being triggered, and retreating to new spaces and (2) resisting the surveillance technology measure because clients feel stigmatized, missed the company, and do not like being "watched." CONCLUSION: Client experiences of surveillance technology appear to entail a certain ambivalence. This is in part due to the variety in surveillance technology devices, with each device bringing its own connotations and experiences. But it also lies in the devices' presupposition of an ideal user, which is at odds with the actual user who is inherently vulnerable. Surveillance technology can contribute to the autonomy of clients in long-term care, but only if it is set in a truly person-centered approach.

CE: Original research: the use of surveillance technology in residential facilities for people with dementia or intellectual disabilities: a study among nurses and support staff.

BACKGROUND: The use of surveillance technology in residential care facilities for people with dementia or intellectual disabilities is often promoted both as a solution to understaffing and as a means to increasing clients' autonomy. But there are fears that such use might attenuate the care relationship. OBJECTIVE: To investigate how surveillance technology is actually being used by nurses and support staff in residential care facilities for people with dementia or intellectual disabilities, in order to explore the possible benefits and drawbacks of this technology in practice. METHODS: An ethnographic field study was carried out in two residential care facilities: a nursing home for people with dementia and a facility for people with intellectual disabilities. Data were collected through field observations and informal conversations as well as through formal interviews. RESULTS: Five overarching themes on the use of surveillance technology emerged from the data: continuing to do rounds, alarm fatigue, keeping clients in close proximity, locking the doors, and forgetting to take certain devices off. Despite the presence of surveillance technology, participants still continued their rounds. Alarm fatigue sometimes led participants to turn devices off. Though the technology allowed wandering clients to be tracked more easily, participants often preferred keeping clients nearby, and preferably behind locked doors at night. At times participants forgot to remove less visible devices (such as electronic bracelets) when the original reason for use expired. CONCLUSIONS: A more nuanced view of the benefits and drawbacks of surveillance technology is called for. Study participants tended to incorporate surveillance technology into existing care routines and to do so with some reluctance and reservation. They also tended to favor certain technologies, for example, making intensive use of certain devices (such as digital enhanced cordless telecommunications phones) while demonstrating ambivalence about others (such as the tagging and tracking systems). Client safety and physical proximity seemed to be dominant values, suggesting that the fear that surveillance technology will cause attenuation of the care relationship is unfounded. On the other hand, the values of client freedom and autonomy seemed less influential; participants often appeared unwilling to take risks with the technology. Care facilities wishing to implement surveillance technology should encourage ongoing dialogue on how staff members view and understand the concepts of autonomy and risk. A clear and well-formulated vision for the use of surveillance technology-one understood and supported by all stakeholders-seems imperative to successful implementation.

Surveillance technology: an alternative to physical restraints? A qualitative study among professionals working in nursing homes for people with dementia.

BACKGROUND: Working with surveillance technology as an alternative to traditional restraints creates obvious differences in the way care is organised. It is not clear whether professional caregivers find working with surveillance technology useful and workable and whether surveillance technology is indeed used to diminish restraint use. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to obtain an insight into the view of Dutch dementia care professionals on the feasibility of surveillance technology as an alternative to physical restraints. DESIGN: Qualitative study. SETTING: The study was carried out in seven nursing homes for people with dementia in The Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were held with nine key persons from seven nursing homes for people with dementia. Also, six focus group discussions were held with groups of nurses and two focus group discussions were held with multidisciplinary teams. RESULTS: The dementia care professionals named three different ways in which surveillance technology can be used: to provide safety in general, to provide additional safety, and to provide more freedom for the residents. In addition to this, the dementia care professionals mentioned four limitations in the use of surveillance technology: it is unable to prevent falling, it cannot guarantee quick help, it does not always work properly, and it could violate privacy. CONCLUSION: Dementia care professionals consider surveillance technology supplemental to physical restraints, rather than as an alternative. Improvement of devices and education of care professionals might increase the support for using surveillance technology as an alternative to physical restraints.

Ethics of using assistive technology in the care for community-dwelling elderly people: an overview of the literature.

OBJECTIVES: This article provides an overview of the international literature on the most important ethical considerations in the field of assistive technology (AT) in the care for community-dwelling elderly people, focused on dementia. METHOD: A systematic literature review was performed. RESULTS: A total of 46 papers met the inclusion criteria. Three main themes were found. The first theme, personal living environment, involves the subthemes privacy, autonomy and obtrusiveness. The second theme, the outside world, involves the subthemes stigma and human contact. The third theme, the design of AT devices, involves the subthemes individual approach, affordability and safety. The often referred to umbrella term of 'obtrusiveness' is frequently used by many authors in the discussion, while a clear description of the concept is mostly absent. CONCLUSION: When it comes to AT use in the care for elderly people living at home, ethical debate appears not to be a priority. The little discussion there relies heavily on thick concepts such as autonomy and obtrusiveness which seem to complicate the debate rather than clarify it, because they contain many underlying ambiguous concepts and assumptions. Most encountered ethical objections originate from the view that people are, or should be, independent and self-determinant. It is questionable whether the view is correct and helpful in the debate on AT use in the care for (frail) elderly people. Other ethical approaches that view people as social and reciprocal might be more applicable and shed a different light on the ethical aspects of AT use.

The ideal application of surveillance technology in residential care for people with dementia.

BACKGROUND: As our society is ageing, nursing homes are finding it increasingly difficult to deal with an expanding population of patients with dementia and a decreasing workforce. A potential answer to this problem might lie in the use of technology. However, the use and application of surveillance technology in dementia care has led to considerable ethical debate among healthcare professionals and ethicists, with no clear consensus to date. AIM: To explore how surveillance technology is viewed by care professionals and ethicists working in the field, by investigating the ideal application of surveillance technology in the residential care of people with dementia. METHODS: Use was made of the concept mapping method, a computer-assisted procedure consisting of five steps: brainstorming, prioritizing, clustering, processing by the computer and analysis. Various participants (ranging from ethicists to physicians and nurses) were invited on the basis of their professional background. RESULTS: The views generated are grouped into six categories ranging from the need for a right balance between freedom and security, to be beneficial and tailored to the resident, and clearly defined procedures to competent and caring personnel, active monitoring and clear normative guidance. The results are presented in the form of a graphic chart. CONCLUSIONS: There appears to be an inherent duality in the views on using surveillance technology which is rooted in the moral conflict between safety and freedom. Elaboration of this ethical issue has proved to be very difficult.

The concept of restraint in nursing home practice: a mixed-method study in nursing homes for people with dementia.

INTRODUCTION: Although in most developed countries the use of restraints is regulated and restricted by law, the concept of restraint in nursing home care remains ambiguous. This study aims to explore how care professionals and family members of nursing home residents with dementia in the Netherlands experience and define the concept of restraint. METHODS: Individual interviews were held with relatives (n = 7) and key persons (n = 9) in seven nursing homes. We also conducted eight focus group discussions with nursing home staff. In addition, a structured questionnaire was administered to the nurses of participating nursing homes. RESULTS: In the questionnaire, over 80% of the respondents indicated considering "fixation" (e.g. use of belts) as a restraint and 50 to 70% of the respondents regarded other physical interventions, such as geriatric chairs and bedrails, as restraints. The interviews and focus group discussions show that the residents' perception of the intervention, the staff's intention behind the intervention and concerns of privacy are the criteria used by the respondents in defining an intervention as a restraint. CONCLUSIONS: When trying to diminish restraint use, it is important to be aware of the "local logic" of care practice and to take into account the fact that, for staff and relatives, an intervention is only regarded as a restraint when it is bothering a resident or when an intervention is used for the sole purpose of restricting freedom and/or when interventions invade the privacy of a resident.

Ethical and practical concerns of surveillance technologies in residential care for people with dementia or intellectual disabilities: an overview of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Technology has emerged as a potential solution to alleviate some of the pressures on an already overburdened care system, thereby meeting the growing needs of an expanding population of seriously cognitively impaired people. However, questions arise as to what extent technologies are already being used in residential care and how ethically and practically acceptable this use would be. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted to explore what is known on the moral and practical acceptability of surveillance technologies in residential care for people with dementia or intellectual disabilities, and to set forth the state of the debate. RESULTS: A total of 79 papers met the inclusion criteria. The findings show that application and use of surveillance technologies in residential care for vulnerable people generates considerable ethical debate. This ethical debate centers not so much around the effects of technology, but rather around the moral acceptability of those effects, especially when a conflict arises between the interests of the institution and the interests of the resident. However, the majority of articles lack in depth analysis. Furthermore, there are notable cultural differences between the European literature and American literature whereby in Britain there seems to be more ethical debate than in America. Overall however, there is little attention for the resident perspective. CONCLUSION: No ethical consensus has yet been reached, underlining the need for clear(er) policies. More research is thus recommended to determine ethical and practical viability of surveillance technologies whereby research should be specifically focused on the resident perspective.