Aim
To explore Mental Health Care Practitioners and a Mental Health Care Directors perceptions of
mental health care nurses obtaining prescription authority in eThekwini District KwaZulu-Natal.
Methodology
A qualitative design was used to gather data through individual interviews and a focus group
interview. Purposive sampling was used to select the study setting (five (5) Out Patient
Departments, two (2) Community Health Centres, one (1) tertiary educational institution, and
one district office), potential participants were not sampled. Participants included; twenty six
mental health care nurses (n=26), one (1) psychiatrist (n=1), four (4) medical officers (n=4) and
one (n=1) mental health care director. Thematic analysis using the steps outlined by Braun and
Clark (2006) was used to analyse the data.
Results
The majority of participants were not aware of policies or legislation allowing nurses to prescribe
medication. Participating mental health care nurses from an education setting were more
knowledgeable than other participants about current legislation and policy. Study findings
indicate that nurses’ obtaining prescriptive authority is not on the provincial department of health
agenda. In addition, participating ppsychiatrists and medical officers expressed reservations
about nurses obtaining prescriptive authority, specifically independent prescriptive authority.
Participating mental health nurses displayed ambivalence related to the pursuit of prescriptive
authority.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The challenge for mental health nurses is suggested to be the achievement of a collaborative
working relationship within the discipline of nursing, and between the discipline of nursing and
medicine / psychiatry. It is suggested mental health care directors, and the SANC, be proactive,
look to the future in advising the health minister about access and barriers to mental health care
treatment. In addition, the SANC champion the nurse, specifically the mental health care nurse in
obtaining prescriptive authority for schedule 5-6 psychotropic medications. Further research is required to generate more in-depth data, specifically research that explores mental health care
nurses’ reluctance to pursue prescriptive authority. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2014.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/11428 |
| Date | 30 October 2014 |
| Creators | Ramasamy, Maragatham. |
| Contributors | Smith, A. A. H. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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