Trajectory of suicide as a transformation in obscurity-As told by the deceased's next of kin.

There is a collective call from the field of suicide research for studies on the individual dynamics of suicidality in order to understand the deadliness of the suicidal process. This study examines the deceased next of kin's ('survivor's) experience of the suicidal process in order to gain perspectives that can be used in the preventive care of suicidal patients. The aim of this study was to explore the suicide process through the suicide survivor's experience. The study is designed and conducted through a phenomenological, reflective lifeworld approach. Twelve in-depth interviews concerning lived experiences of a suicide were conducted. The suicide process is described as the emerging of an obscured transformation of self, and an aligning to this changing understanding of self that forms a unique suicidal death course. This death course contains the co-occurrence of life and death orientations. Survivors' collected knowledge of a suicidal trajectory helps us understand the life conditions of a suicidal person that has ended their life. Life orientation and experiences of self-governance are critical parts of a suicidal trajectory and can have great preventive potential for care and assessments during suicidality. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) were used for the reporting structure of this article.

Nurses' experiences of suicide attempts in palliative care.

OBJECTIVES: To describe nurses' experiences of caring for individuals who have attempted suicide in specialized palliative care and to describe if the care of these individuals changed after the suicide attempt. METHODS: A qualitative, descriptive study was conducted. Nine nurses working in specialized palliative care units were interviewed following a semi-structured interview guide. Conventional content analysis was used in the analysis process. RESULTS: The results are presented in 3 categories: "A suicide attempt evokes strong emotions," "Health-care efforts changed after the suicide attempt," and "Experiences for the rest of working life." Suicide attempts aroused emotions in nurses such as frustration, compassion, and feelings of being manipulated. The relationship between the nurse and the individual was strengthened after the suicide attempt, and their conversations became deeper and changed in nature. Health-care efforts relating to the individual increased after the suicide attempt. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: The results of the study can create an awareness that the palliative process also includes the risk of suicide and can be used to create conditions for nurses to be able to handle questions about suicide without fear. The results of the study can be used as an "eye opener" to the fact that suicidality occurs in palliative care. In summary, there is a critical need for nursing education in suicide risk assessment and continued follow-up care for patients at risk of suicide within palliative care.

Don´t set us aside!Experiences of families of people with BPD who have access to Brief admission:a phenomenological perspective.

AIM: To highlight the experiences of family members of people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and self-harming behaviour who have access to brief admission. METHODS: To understand the families lived experience a phenomenological lifeworld perspective was adopted to this study. Twelve in-depht interviews were performed in November and December 2021 with family members of people with BPD and self-harming behaviour who have accessed BA. The phenomenological life-world perspective guided the analysis. RESULTS: Families' life-world was characterized by anxiety and constant protection of their loved one. They live with constant fear of how their loved ones are feeling and whether they will injure themselves. When access to BA was available this gave hope and provided conditions for families to maintain everyday routines and also enhanced relationships among family members. When families' loved ones were denied BA, they felt betrayed which contributed to negative feelings towards the medical profession, and the families lost confidence in psychiatry. CONCLUSION: By interviewing families of people with BPD and self-harming behaviour who had access to BA, it emerged they possess valuable knowledge. BA can be developed if the needs of families are taken into consideration, and if families are given the opportunity to share emotions and the high burden of responsibility with staff or families in similar situations. If health care staff gives family members a more central role in care and makes their shared life-world visible it could thereby hopefully increase well-being and benefits for the whole family.

Relatives' experiences of brief admission in borderline personality disorder and self-harming behaviour.

AIM: The aim of this study is to describe experiences of brief admission (BA) of people with borderline personality disorder and self-harming behaviour, from the perspective of their relatives. DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative design was chosen. METHODS: Twelve relatives of people with borderline personality disorder and self-harming behaviour who had access to BA were interviewed. Data were analysed with qualitative conventional content analysis. RESULTS: One overarching category: Hope for the future and three categories occurred: Breathing space, Personal responsibility and Structure. BA created hope for the future and the relatives appreciated that BA is a freer and easily accessible form of care that enables help at an early stage, compared with usual care. When BA functions, the structure and pre-determined days of care give relatives a breathing space, and the uncertainty diminishes for the children, as the parent can still be present during inpatient care. The lack of places was described as a disadvantage of BA.

Saving lives by asking questions: nurses' experiences of suicide risk assessment in telephone counselling in primary health care.

AIM: To explore nurses' experiences of suicide risk assessment in telephone counselling (TC) in primary health care (PHC). BACKGROUND: Globally, priority is given to developing suicide prevention work in PHC. However, suicide risk assessments in TC are not included in these interventions even though these are a common duty of nurses in PHC. More expertise in the field can contribute to knowledge important for developing nurses' tasks within PHC. METHODS: A qualitative interview study was conducted with 15 nurses. Data were analysed using conventional content analysis. FINDINGS: As suicide risk assessment in TC is a common duty for nurses in PHC, they need to be listened to and given the right conditions to perform this work. The nurses lack training in how to carry out suicide risk assessments and are forced to learn through experience. Intuition guides them in their work. A prerequisite for making correct assessments over the telephone is that the nurses are given time as well as the right competence. The PHC organisation needs to create these conditions. Furthermore, interventions to support suicide prevention need to include strategies to help nurses perform suicide assessment in TC.

Nurses' Experiences of Suicide Prevention in Primary Health Care (PHC) - A Qualitative Interview Study.

AIM: The purpose was to describe nurses' experiences of suicide prevention work in primary health care (PHC). BACKGROUND: Suicide is the tenth most common cause of death among adults. PHC has an important role in suicide prevention work, as patients often had contact with PHC before their suicide rather than with specialist psychiatric care. Nurses often have the first contact with the patient and are responsible for triage and assessment, making them important in suicide prevention work. Previous studies shed light on suicide prevention in a primary care context, but the nurses' voices are missing. METHODS: Fifteen qualitative interviews were conducted with nurses in primary health care. Data was analyzed according to conventional content analysis techniques. FINDINGS: Nurses may avoid asking questions about suicidality for fear of what to do with the answer. To support the nurses' ability in suicide prevention work, both educational and practical experience are fundamental. There was a lack of clarity about who is carrying responsibility for the patient, and it turned out to be difficult to help the patient move further to the next care institution. There was a need for guidelines as well as routines for collaboration with other care actors in suicide prevention work. CONCLUSION: The PHC organization does not support nurses in suicide prevention, therefore they need the right conditions for their work. Suicide prevention needs to be given greater focus and space within education as well as training in the ongoing clinical work, which can be performed with less extensive efforts.

Forced to move on: An interview study with survivors who have lost a relative to suicide.

PURPOSE: To explore the loss of a relative due to suicide. DESIGN AND METHODS: Ten survivors of relatives who had taken their lives were interviewed. Data was analyzed from a phenomenological perspective. FINDINGS: The survivors described how they witnessed the darkness that took over their relative's lifeworld. During the time before and after the suicide, the survivor felt barred from having a role in the relative's care. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Understanding and exploring implicit dynamics, such as "a feeling of darkness taking over," "a sense of relief," or "putting on a mask" could be important for developing person-centered suicide care.

Experiences of how brief admission influences daily life functioning among individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and self-harming behaviour.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore experiences of how brief admission influences daily life functioning among individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and self-harming behaviour. BACKGROUND: Brief admission (BA) is a crisis nursing intervention designed to reduce long hospitalisations and the risk of suicide. The intention of the intervention is to develop autonomy and to encourage the patient to take responsibility for and control over their own care and treatment. There are studies in the area that target individuals with psychosis and bipolar disorders, but no previous studies have been found examining how BA impacts upon daily life functioning among people with BPD who self-harm. DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative design was chosen. METHODS: Data were collected using qualitative individual interviews with 16 patients with BPD and self-harming behaviour who had been assigned to BA. The data were analysed using conventional content analysis. The study was conducted in accordance with COREQ guidelines. RESULTS: The results show that BA was perceived as a functioning nursing intervention that promoted self-determination and self-care. This contributed to increased security in daily life. BA made it possible for individuals to maintain everyday routines, employment and relationships more easily. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that BA was experienced to have a positive impact on daily life functioning. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Brief admission enabled the balance of power to be shifted from the nurse to the patient, and provides conditions for patients to take responsibility for their mental condition and to become aware of early signs of deterioration, in line with the basic ideas of person-centred care.

Conceptualizing patient participation in psychiatry: A survey describing the voice of patients in outpatient care.

BACKGROUND: While increasingly discussed in somatic care, the concept of patient participation remains unsettled in psychiatric care, potentially impeding person-centred experiences. OBJECTIVE: To describe outpatient psychiatric care patients' conceptualization of patient participation. DESIGN: An exploratory survey. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Patients in four psychiatric outpatient care units. VARIABLES: Patients conceptualized patient participation by completing a semi-structured questionnaire, including optional attributes and free text. Data were analysed using statistics for ordinal data and content analysis for free text. RESULTS: In total, 137 patients (69% of potential respondents) completed the questionnaire. The discrete items were favoured for conceptualizing patient participation, indicating a primary connotation that participation means being listened to, being in a reciprocal dialogue, learning about one's health care and managing one's symptoms. Additional free-text responses acknowledged the attributes previously recognized, and provided supplementary notions, including that patient participation is about mutual respect and shared trust. DISCUSSION: What patient participation is and how it can be facilitated needs to be agreed in order to enable preference-based patient participation. Patients in outpatient psychiatric care conceptualize participation in terms of both sharing of and sharing in, including taking part in joint and solo activities, such as a reciprocal dialogue and managing symptoms by yourself. CONCLUSION: While being a patient in psychiatric care has been associated with a lack of voice, an increased understanding of patient participation enables person-centred care, with the benefits of collaboration, co-production and enhanced quality of care. PATIENT CONTRIBUTION: Patients provided their conceptualization of patient participation in accordance with their lived experience.

Evaluation of a healthcare walk-in centre in an immigrant-dense area from the perspective of Swedish-born patients.

AIM: This study evaluates a healthcare walk-in centre in an immigrant-dense area from the perspective of Swedish-born patients. BACKGROUND: The studied healthcare centre started a walk-in centre to increase healthcare accessibility for immigrants. This form of care is not primarily for Swedish-born patients although everyone is welcome. For this reason, it is important to evaluate the walk-in centre from different perspectives: the healthcare workers, the immigrant patients, and in this study focusing on the Swedish-born patients. METHOD: This qualitative exploratory study used content analysis to analyse data collected from semi-structured interviews. Semi-structured interviews were held with 12 purposively sampled Swedish-born patients visiting a healthcare centre in Sweden. FINDINGS: Most informants characterised the care they received as professional and timely and noted that accessibility was the main reason they sought care at the walk-in centre. In addition, they noted that being able to seek care on the day they want creates a feeling of security. However, Swedish-born informants seemed to prefer a traditional healthcare centre, although they viewed the walk-in centre as legitimate because everyone has access to it. CONCLUSION: As the walk-in centre was perceived as having good accessibility, participants experienced that they could easily receive help for minor health problems. However, they also identified several ways the walk-in centre could be improved. For example, some participants preferred to remain outside while awaiting their turn to see a healthcare provider and wanted immigrant patients to leave their relatives at home when possible to minimise the risk of spreading infection. In addition, some participants thought a triage system could be implemented so that more severe cases could advance more quickly in the queue. The homogeneous sample of informants raises questions about whether this healthcare model is indeed accessible to everyone.

Impact of suicide on health professionals in psychiatric care mental healthcare professionals' perceptions of suicide during ongoing psychiatric care and its impacts on their continued care work.

People who attempt suicide as well as those who actually take their own life often have communicated their suicidal thoughts and feelings to healthcare professionals in some form. Suicidality is one of the most challenging caring situations and the impacts of suicide care affect both the professional and personal lives of healthcare professionals. This study investigates how mental health professionals perceive suicide while providing psychiatric care and how this perception impacts their continued care work. This qualitative exploratory study includes 19 mental health professionals in psychiatry who had provided care for patients who had taken their own life. Analysis followed the principle of phenomenography. The findings reveal that these healthcare professionals experienced an internal conflict that affected them both personally and professionally. In response to these conflicts, the healthcare professionals developed strategies that involved a safety zone and increased vigilance. Those who were able to commute and balance a safe spot and learning to be more vigilant seem to have developed as a result of patient's suicide. These findings have the potential to help establish a post-suicide caring process where healthcare professionals learn to make better suicide assessments, become more open to talking about death with patients, and develop a humbler approach to understanding a patient's suicide.

Healthcare staff's evaluation of a walk-in centre at a healthcare centre in an immigrant-dense area.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate a walk-in centre at a healthcare centre in an immigrant-dense area where a high proportion of the patients have limited language ability in Swedish, from the perspective of healthcare personnel. BACKGROUND: Increased global migration results in higher vulnerability in migrants, with the risk of increased morbidity and mortality. Migrants' health often deteriorates, which can be attributed to an increased level of stress and adaptation to a new lifestyle. Therefore, immigrants are at higher risk of being affected by, for example, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. This requires access to good health care. DESIGN: A qualitative exploratory study was conducted, using semi-structured interviews. Content analysis was used in the analysis process. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were held with 15 purposively sampled doctors and nurses, working at a healthcare centre in Sweden. Data were collected during autumn 2017. The study was performed in accordance with COREQ. RESULTS: Working at the walk-in centre involved caring for everything from basic to advanced health problems and meant a high pace that required stress-resistant personnel. The walk-in centre was described as both promoting and threatening patient safety. The personnel had several ideas on how to develop the walk-in centre. CONCLUSIONS: A walk-in centre can be seen as a necessity related to issues of ensuring patient safety and delivering care for everyone in an immigrant-dense area. However, it cannot be the only form of care offered, as it seems not be adapted to certain groups, such as people with disabilities and the elderly. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The findings emphasise that a walk-in centre is a way to increase accessibility for the entire population and offer equal care for all, even if it involves challenges that need to be addressed.

The borderline between life and death: Mental healthcare professionals' experience of why patients commit suicide during ongoing care.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore mental health professionals' experiences in regard to circumstances that cause the patient to take their own life during ongoing care. BACKGROUND: Suicide is a worldwide health problem, and of those who take their own life, nearly 20% have had contact with a psychiatric unit. Mental health professionals may have extended intuitive knowledge that has not been made visible. Mental health professionals' experiences can contribute knowledge that can complement suicide risk assessments and can be helpful in developing approaches and strategies where the hope is to identify and draw attention to people at risk of taking their own life. DESIGN: A reflective lifeworld research. METHODS: Twelve interviews with mental health professionals with experience of working in caring relationships with patients that had taken their life during the period of care. The study was performed in accordance with COREQ (see Supporting Information Data S1). RESULTS: Mental health professionals' experiences regarding circumstances that cause the patient to take their own life are related to the patient's life circumstances that led to a loss of dignity, and finally beyond retrieval. Mental health professionals share patients' struggle to choose between life and death, the darkness of their life and their hopeless situation. This shared experience also makes the mental health professionals wish to relieve patient's suffering but also gives them an understanding of why patients take their own life. CONCLUSIONS: The mental health professionals experience how the patient loses the possibility of living a worthwhile life, recognise darkness within the patient and see how the patient's life is fragile. Suicide described as logical and expected, based on their life and life circumstances, has not been found in previous research. Bearing this in mind, should psychiatric care focus on a proactive approach and act when these circumstances are identified? RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The Mental health professionals' tacit knowledge may be used to strengthen uncertain suicide assessments.

An Intervention with Physical Activity and Lifestyle Counseling Improves Health-Related Quality of Life and Shows Small Improvements in Metabolic Risks in Persons with Psychosis.

This research studied the effects of a lifestyle intervention on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and metabolic risk factors in persons with psychosis, using a longitudinal intervention design with a matched reference sample. In participants in the intervention group, scores on the EQ-VAS, which measured HRQoL, improved from 57.6 to 63.3 (SD = 17.8) (p = 0.05), and HDL cholesterol concentration increased from 1.03 to 1.11 (0.19) mmol/l. (p = 0.02). There was no significant change in body weight among participants. The results of this study indicate that a lifestyle intervention based on group meetings improves HRQoL in patients with psychosis and provides small improvements in metabolic risk factors.

Persons with psychosis perceptions of participating in a lifestyle intervention.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To describe how persons with psychosis perceive participation in a lifestyle intervention, and use these perceptions to present factors to for consideration in future interventions. BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome is common in persons with psychosis. A healthy lifestyle is the primary option for preventing and treating metabolic syndrome, which is why the importance of lifestyle interventions has come into focus among health care professionals. Identifying perceptions of participation in a lifestyle intervention can increase the understanding of how to design future interventions. DESIGN: A qualitative, phenomenographic approach was selected, using semi-structured interviews. METHODS: The sample consisted of 40 participants with a psychotic disorder, who had undergone a lifestyle intervention focusing on theoretical education in healthy eating and physical activities. The interviews were conducted in 2011 and 2012, six to seven months after the intervention had been completed. RESULTS: The findings comprise three categories that emphasise the need for a moderate intervention level that facilitates participation and thereby social interactions among group members. The experience of success in the intervention supported the perception of oneself as a capable individual. However, it could also be the opposite, another experience of failure. CONCLUSION: Content in moderation can facilitate participation, and participants can thereby achieve health benefits and find social contacts. In addition to physical activity and lifestyle habits, interventions should have a social focus and be continuous. Professional support is a prerequisite and should facilitate the participants' ability to mirror themselves against healthy people in society by introducing activities that ordinary people do. RELEVANCE FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: Identifying perceptions of participation in a lifestyle intervention can increase the understanding of how to design and manage future interventions. This is also an aspect that is important to consider in everyday clinical practice.

Health-related quality of life and metabolic risk in patients with psychosis.

UNLABELLED: Improved Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an alternative treatment goal for individuals with psychosis, who have up to two times greater prevalence of type 2 diabetes, hypertension and obesity than the general population. AIM: to compare HRQoL in patients with psychosis, especially schizophrenia, with a reference sample and explore the relationship between HRQoL and metabolic risk factors in these patients. METHODS: a prospective cohort study was carried out in specialized psychiatric outpatient departments in Sweden. The patients were invited consecutively. A prospective population-based study of public health in the south-east of Sweden served as reference group. Patients were assessed with psychiatric questionnaires that included Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). Health-related quality of life was assessed using the questionnaire EQ5D, both for patients and the population, and several other health status outcomes were used. RESULTS: At 73%, schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder were the most common diagnoses in the patient group. The results in patients (n=903) and population (n=7238) showed significant differences in lower EQ5D among patients. According to the definition by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), elevated blood pressure was the only metabolic risk associated with lower HRQoL in patients. Raised LDL-cholesterol levels were also significantly related to lower HRQoL. CONCLUSION: patients suffering from psychosis had significantly lower HRQoL regarding all components in EQ5D, except for the pain/discomfort component. Almost half of the patient group met the criteria for metabolic syndrome. According to the IDF criteria, elevated blood pressure was the only metabolic risk factor that had an impact on HRQoL.

Prerequisites for a healthy lifestyle-experiences of persons with psychosis.

The purpose of this study is to explore prerequisites for a healthy lifestyle as described by individuals diagnosed with psychosis. Forty participants who had performed a lifestyle intervention focusing on physical activities and lifestyle education were interviewed. Conventional content analysis was used. The results are described in two categories: (1) Individual Prerequisites and (2) Being a Part of Society. The individuals said that they got stuck in a state of planning without taking action. It was pointless to make a bigger effort because the psychotic disorder could, at any time, worsen the prerequisites. They also said that they wanted to live like everybody else and therefore tried to adopt a normal lifestyle. Future interventions or professional support by mental health nurses and other health care givers should target the transition from planning to action to achieve a healthy lifestyle, and should help the individual to taking part in society.

Preventing the development of metabolic syndrome in people with psychotic disorders--difficult, but possible: experiences of staff working in psychosis outpatient care in Sweden.

The aim of this study was to explore mental health staffs' experiences of assisting people with psychotic disorders to implement lifestyle changes in an effort to prevent metabolic syndrome. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 health care professionals working in psychosis outpatient care in Sweden. Data were analysed using a qualitative content analysis. The results illustrate that implementation of lifestyle changes among people with psychotic disorders was experienced as difficult, but possible. The greatest obstacles experienced in this work were difficulties due to the reduction of cognitive functions associated with the disease. Guidelines available to staff in order to help them identify and prevent physical health problems in the group were not always followed and the content was not always relevant. Staff further described feelings of uncertainty about having to motivate people to take anti-psychotic medication while simultaneously being aware of the risks of metabolic deviations. Nursing interventions focusing on organising daily routines before conducting a more active prevention of metabolic syndrome, including information and practical support, were experienced as necessary. The importance of healthy eating and physical activity needs to be communicated in such a way that it is adjusted to the person's cognitive ability, and should be repeated over time, both verbally and in writing. Such efforts, in combination with empathic and seriously committed community-based social support, were experienced as having the best effect over time. Permanent lifestyle changes were experienced as having to be carried out on the patient's terms and in his or her home environment.