Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / RATIONALE: Mental illness is regarded as the nation's major health problem. There is an overwhelming need for professional nurses to assume major therapeutic responsibilities in the treatment of the mentally ill and to conduct research in clinical practice concurrently with therapeutic work from which content and theory can evolve. The implications of inquiry at this point are relevant to the improvement of practice and research in teacher education. [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors associated with choosing mental health nursing as a career, and to explore the possible ways of improving recruitment and retention of mental health nurses in Kenya. Quantitative, explorative descriptive research was conducted. Data collection was done by using questionnaires and focus group discussions. Three groups participated in the study: practicing mental health nurses (n=10), post-basic mental health nursing students (n=10) and final year basic nursing students (n=184). The findings revealed that basic nursing students do not intend to pursue a career in mental health nursing, and that there is an aging population of mental health nurses. The barriers to the mental health field include stigma, a poor working environment and inadequate career guidance. Marketing, policy and regulatory reforms, as well as positive work environments have been identified as strategies for improving the recruitment and retention of mental health nurses in Kenya. / Health Studies / Thesis (M.A. (Health Studies))

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The purpose of this study is to gain a richer understanding of the experiences of moral distress for nursing students within the context of psychiatric-mental health clinical placements, examine strategies students use to effectively manage distress, and explore student and instructor roles as agents of change to reduce the negative impact of moral distress. Nursing students and instructors engaged in semi-structured interviews and focus groups, respectively, to examine the complexities of this phenomenon. This study utilized second-person action research based on Jürgen Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action. Findings indicated that nursing students experience moral distress when they are powerless and lack role models to follow in taking action to address situations that are “not right”. Nursing instructors acknowledge their responsibility to prepare students for practice, but are also powerless as “guests” within the practice setting and are powerless to effect change on a hierarchical medical system. Findings indicate that both nursing education and health care institutions must make changes in their approaches to practice if they wish to empower nursing professionals to provide safe, competent, and ethical care to patients. / vii, 139 leaves ; 29 cm

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors associated with choosing mental health nursing as a career, and to explore the possible ways of improving recruitment and retention of mental health nurses in Kenya. Quantitative, explorative descriptive research was conducted. Data collection was done by using questionnaires and focus group discussions. Three groups participated in the study: practicing mental health nurses (n=10), post-basic mental health nursing students (n=10) and final year basic nursing students (n=184). The findings revealed that basic nursing students do not intend to pursue a career in mental health nursing, and that there is an aging population of mental health nurses. The barriers to the mental health field include stigma, a poor working environment and inadequate career guidance. Marketing, policy and regulatory reforms, as well as positive work environments have been identified as strategies for improving the recruitment and retention of mental health nurses in Kenya. / Health Studies / Thesis (M.A. (Health Studies))

This dissertation reports on the lived experiences of four child psychiatric nurses. The territory of child psychiatric nursing is explored in this investigation through the punctuation of many voices within this field of study. The methodology of the investigation is descriptive phenomenology and Colaizzis’ steps in descriptive phenomenology (map) are used to discover and describe the different template theories (the territory) that are unique to each of the four child psychiatric nurses who were interviewed. Following this, a story is punctuated, which is referred to as the structural synthesis. It is the heartbeat of the investigation. The dissertation concludes by reflecting on the paradox of how the invisibility of the child psychiatric nurses allowed for the visibility of the dissertation and encourages the reader to ask pivotal questions about the important role of the child psychiatric nurse, working as part of a multidisciplinary team, in order to improve patient care. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical psychology)

This dissertation reports on the lived experiences of four child psychiatric nurses. The territory of child psychiatric nursing is explored in this investigation through the punctuation of many voices within this field of study. The methodology of the investigation is descriptive phenomenology and Colaizzis’ steps in descriptive phenomenology (map) are used to discover and describe the different template theories (the territory) that are unique to each of the four child psychiatric nurses who were interviewed. Following this, a story is punctuated, which is referred to as the structural synthesis. It is the heartbeat of the investigation. The dissertation concludes by reflecting on the paradox of how the invisibility of the child psychiatric nurses allowed for the visibility of the dissertation and encourages the reader to ask pivotal questions about the important role of the child psychiatric nurse, working as part of a multidisciplinary team, in order to improve patient care. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical psychology)

Bakgrund: Gungstolsterapi som omvårdnadsåtgärd är outforskat inom den psykiatriska heldygnsvården. Vetenskapliga studier av den typ av gungstol som här studerats har inte gått att hitta. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att utvärdera gungstolsterapi som omvårdnadsåtgärd vid en psykiatrisk heldygnsvårdsavdelning. Metod: En naturalistisk studie med både kvantitativa och kvalitativa inslag genomfördes. Under studieperioden fick patienter som vårdades på en psykiatrisk heldygnsvårdsavdelning lämna självskattningar på en VAS-skala avseende sitt mående före och efter genomförd gungstolsterapi. Patienterna kunde också lämna en skriftlig kommentar om gungningen. Resultat: Resultatet visar att deltagarna skattat en genomsnittlig förbättring motsvarande 16%-enheter i sitt generella mående efter genomförd gungning. Genomsnittliga gungtid var 33 min/gungtillfälle. Majoriteten av patienterna som deltog i studien har bipolär sjukdom. Många deltagare föredrog att gunga en viss del av dygnet. Innehållsanalysen av kommentarerna ledde till att fem kategorier bildades som sammanfattades i temat "En stol som berör". Den genomförda studien visar att patienterna generellt sett upplevde ett ökat välbefinnande efter gungstolsterapin. Studien visar också att inga allvarliga händelser inträffat vid användningen av gungstolen. Resultatet i de båda delarna av studien harmonierar väl med varandra. Slutsats: Studien ger underlag att rekommendera patienter gungstolsterapi för att förbättra sitt mående eller i symtomlindrande syfte. Genomgången visar att många patienter har individuella preferenser för sitt gungande. Gungstolsterapi bör ses som en hälsofrämjande egenvårdsåtgärd som patienten kan utföra dygnet runt och som kan läggas in i patientens vårdplan. / Background: Rocking chair therapy has been poorly researched. There are no scientific research studies where the current rocking chair was evaluated. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate rocking chair therapy as a nursing intervention in an inpatient psychiatric setting. Method: A mixed method design, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, was used. The participants were asked to rate their well-being in a form by using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) before and after rocking chair therapy. Participants also had the possibility to leave free text comments in the form. Results: The participants rated a 16% increase in their well-being after using the rocking chair. The average rocking time was 33 minutes. The majority of the participants are diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Many participants preferred to use the rocking chair during a specific time frame every day. The content analysis resulted in five categories and the underlying meaning could be expressed by the theme "Moving emotions". No adverse effects were recorded during the study. Both the quantitative and qualitative analysis show positive results and there are no contradictions in the results. Conclusion: This study support the mental health nurse to recommend psychiatric patients to try rocking chair therapy as a way to increase well-being or reduce distress, it is also a method well suited for self-management. Each patient has his/her own preferences for using rocking chair therapy. The use of rocking chair therapy can easily be included in the patient’s personal care plan.

Against the perspectives of the mental health needs of the people of Africa, this study explored and compared the models of psychiatric-mental health nursing education in two sub-Saharan African countries - Botswana and Nigeria. The primary purpose of the study was to assess the design, the implementation, the factors that influence and the perceived usefulness of psychiatric-mental health nursing education programmes in developing African countries, using Nigeria and Botswana as examples. A self-reporting questionnaire, administered to psychiatric nurse educators from the two countries of concern, provided the primary source of data. A curriculum evaluation checklist based on Horan, Knight, McAtee and Westrick (1984) was used to assess the components of the existing psychiatric nursing education curricula from the two countries. Discussions were also held with practising psychiatric nurses and officials of the nursing regulatory bodies from the two countries. Data from both countries revealed that participants used various terms to describe the same model for psychiatric-mental health nursing education adopted in their countries. Botswana, however, adopted a more functional generalist basic diploma nursing education approach which encouraged a more advanced post-basic diploma specialisation and practice in community psychiatric-mental health nursing. Nigeria's model leaned towards a hospital centred basic specialisation with no defined role for the generalist nurse within the psychiatric-mental health nursing care system. Community theme occurred in both countries' curricula with varying degrees of emphasis, as all the programmes claimed the intent to make psychiatric-mental health nursing service available to individuals, families and the communities at all levels of care. Psychiatric-mental health nursing education programmes of the two countries had been influenced at different times by war, colonial history, changing standards of health care delivery, government health policies, economic status of the country, professional status of nursing and the changing standard of education. A model that streamlined psychiatric-mental health nursing education within the general system of education in both countries was proposed. It was stressed that one key concept that must underlie the development of psychiatric-mental health nursing education was the need to create a mental health nursing role that would be appropriate for people's health needs rather than the needs of the health care system. / Advanced Nursing Science / D.Litt. et Phil.

The purpose of this qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual study was to explore and describe nurses’ experiences of hostile behaviour from mentally ill patients in the psychiatric ward of a general hospital and to propose recommendations to the hospital management to support nurses who experienced hostile behaviour from mentally ill patients. Purposive sampling was used to identify the twelve nurses who participated in this study. Data were collected through in-depth face-to-face interviews, drawings and field notes. The data were analysed using Tesch’s descriptive method of open coding and the findings revealed that nurses experienced verbal abuse, physical abuse and sexual harassment from mentally ill patients, and had varied negative and positive responses to these forms of hostile behaviour. Main challenges were identified and recommendations were made to the hospital management to support nurses who experience hostile behaviour from mentally ill patients. / Health Studies / MA (Public Health)