Magister Curationis - MCur / Unlawful absence of patients from the acute psychiatric ward increases concern on the part of
the professionals responsible for their care. Patients who abscond from psychiatric hospitals
represent a risk of potential harm to patients or the general public. Consequences of absconding
may include physical harm and prolonged treatment time, as well as considerable economic
cost to the family and government. The aim of the study was to explore and describe the nurse's
experiences of assessment and management for patients at risk of absconding from an acute
psychiatric ward in the Western Cape. A qualitative approach using an exploratory descriptive
design was applied to conduct this study. The target population was mental health nurses
working in acute psychiatric wards where patients were at risk of absconding. A sample of ten
(n=10) mental health nurses was purposively selected to participate in the study. Semistructured
interviews were used to collect the data from participants. Data collection continued
until data saturation was reached (until no further new information emerged). Data was
analysed manually by coding, categorizing and identifying similar patterns. Trustworthiness of
the study was ensured through addressing the confirmability, transferability; credibility and
dependability. Ethics approval was obtained from the University Research Ethics Committee
and Ethics Committee of the Department of Health and the selected psychiatric hospital. The
ethical principles of the right to self-determination, withdrawal from the research study,
privacy, autonomy and confidentiality, fair treatment, protection from discomfort and harm,
and obtaining informed written consent were adhered to. Three themes emerged from the data:
risk assessment, risk management, and increased observations. The results of the study was
discussed with relevant recent literature evidence. The qualitative research is limited to few
study sample size, and the results cannot be generalized to other similar population.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/5682 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Malgas, Fikile Nelson |
| Contributors | Bimerew, Million S |
| Publisher | University of the Western Cape |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | University of the Western Cape |
Page generated in 0.002 seconds