Psychosocial Care Delivery in Intensive Home Treatment During a Mental Health Crisis: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis.

Community-based intensive home treatment (IHT) is delivered as an alternative to psychiatric hospital admission as part of crisis resolution services. People receiving IHT present with complex mental health issues and are acutely distressed. Home treatment options are often preferred and there is evidence of service fidelity, although less is known about psychosocial care in this setting. Underpinned by a critical realist epistemology, this study aimed to explore psychosocial care in the context of home treatment from the perspectives of staff, service users and family carers. Data were collected using individual interviews and focus groups in two NHS organisations in England. An inductive qualitative thematic analysis resulted in five themes focused on (1) the staffing model and effective care provision, (2) the organisation of work and effective care provision, (3) skills and training and service user need, (4) opportunities for involvement and personal choice, and (5) effective communication. Findings suggest that co-production may improve congruence between IHT service design, what service users and carers want and staff ideals about optimal care. Service designs that optimise continuity of care and effective communication were advocated. Staff training in therapeutic interventions was limited by not being tailored to the home treatment context. Evidence gaps remain regarding the most effective psychosocial care and related training and supervision required. There is also a lack of clarity about how carers and family members ought to be supported given their often-crucial role in supporting the person between staff visits.

Mental Health Nurses' and Allied Health Professionals' Individual Research Capacity and Organizational Research Culture: A Comparative Study.

Introduction: Healthcare professionals have development needs related to their consumption, use, and practice of clinical research. Little is known about these issues in mental health services specifically. Objectives: A survey of healthcare staff working in an NHS Mental Health and Disability Trust in England was conducted to describe research capacity and culture compared with previously reported samples, and to examine subgroup differences. Methods: An online questionnaire was utilized. The main measure was the Research Capacity and Culture tool comprising measures of individual's perceived research skills and of team and organizational research culture. Previous studies using the same measure were systematically identified, and pooled results, weighted by sample size, were calculated. Analyses were descriptive (current sample versus previous results) and inferential (comparisons between demographic and professional groups within the current sample). Results: N = 293 people completed the survey. The median item scores were poorer than those of pooled samples from studies reporting median item scores on 39/51 (76.5%) occasions and poorer than those pooled samples of studies reporting mean item scores on 51/51 (100.0%) occasions. Individual capability for research was in the 'less than adequate' range more than in previous samples (71.4% vs. 42.9%). For team culture items, the proportions were 84.2% vs. 78.9%, while most responses about organizational culture were in the 'adequate' range (55.6% vs. 66.7%). Staff >20 years employment had poorer perceptions of team and organizational culture. Conclusion: Perceptions of individual research capacity and team and organizational culture were poor compared with previous studies, most of which were conducted in non-mental health settings. There is need for development of research capacity and culture in mental health services including opportunities to develop basic research skills through to strategic developments to promote clinical academic careers. There is considerable room for improvement in the way organizations support research and signpost opportunities.

Stress, anxiety, depression and sleep disturbance among healthcare professional during the COVID-19 pandemic: An umbrella review of 72 meta-analyses.

The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, has significantly impacted the psychological and physical health of a wide range of individuals, including healthcare professionals (HCPs). This umbrella review aims provide a quantitative summary of meta-analyses that have investigated the prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance among HCPs during the COVID-19 pandemic. An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses reviews was conducted. The search was performed using the EMBASE, PubMed, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar databases from 01st January 2020 to 15th January 2024. A random-effects model was then used to estimate prevalence with a 95% confidence interval. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analyses were then conducted to explore the heterogeneity of the sample. Seventy-two meta-analyses involved 2,308 primary studies were included after a full-text review. The umbrella review revealed that the pooled prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance among HCPs during the COVID-19 pandemic was 37% (95% CI 32.87-41.22), 31.8% (95% CI 29.2-34.61) 29.4% (95% CI 27.13-31.84) 36.9% (95% CI 33.78-40.05) respectively. In subgroup analyses the prevalence of anxiety and depression was higher among nurses than among physicians. Evidence from this umbrella review suggested that a significant proportion of HCPs experienced stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance during the COVID-19 pandemic. This information will support authorities when implementing specific interventions that address mental health problems among HCPs during future pandemics or any other health crises. Such interventions may include the provision of mental health support services, such as counseling and peer support programs, as well as the implementation of organizational strategies to reduce workplace stressors.

Medical and surgical nurses' experiences of modifying and implementing contextually suitable Safewards interventions into medical and surgical hospital wards.

AIM: To explore general nurses' experiences of modifying and implementing contextually suitable Safewards interventions into medical and surgical hospital wards. DESIGN: Qualitative action research was used working with nurses as co-researchers. METHODS: Pre-implementation focus groups were conducted in April 2022 to understand and explore the current strategies nurses utilized to avert, respond to or decrease violence. Following this, two Safewards interventions were modified by the nurses on the wards. Post-implementation focus groups were conducted in October 2022, to explore the nurses' experience of implementing Safewards interventions and the effect on their nursing practice. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's framework for thematic analysis. RESULTS: Three themes emerged from the analysis of the pre-implementation focus groups that reflected the type of violence experienced by these nurses and the context within which they occurred: 'the space is hectic'; 'it can feel like a battlefield'; and 'the aftermath'. These themes encompass the nurses' experience of violence from patients and their visitors. Following the implementation of two modified Safewards interventions, the analysis of the focus groups reflected a change in nursing skills to avert or respond to violence: 'Safewards in action'; 'empathy and self-reflection'; and 'moving forward'. CONCLUSION: Safewards interventions can be successfully modified and used in general hospital wards and influence nursing practice to manage patient and visitor violence. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION: In the interests of safety, successful interventions to reduce violence towards general hospital nurses should be a priority for managers and healthcare organizations. Averting, mitigating and managing violence can decrease the negative professional and personal effect on nurses and ultimately improve well-being, job satisfaction and retention rates. Furthermore, decreasing violence or aggressive incidents leads to a safer patient experience and decreased number of nursing errors ultimately improving patient experiences and outcomes. Understanding nurses' experiences of violence and working with them to explore and develop contextually relevant solutions increases their capacity to respond to and avert violent incidents. Contextually modified Safewards interventions offer one such solution and potentially has wider implications for healthcare settings beyond the specific wards studied. IMPACT: This study addressed the implementation of modified Safewards strategies in medical and surgical wards to prevent violence. Three themes emerged from the analysis of the pre-implementation focus groups that reflected the type of violence experienced by these nurses and the context within which they occurred. Following the implementation of two modified Safewards interventions, the post-implementation focus groups reported positive changes to their practices using the modified resources to prevent violence from patients and their visitors. Mental health interventions, such as those used in the Safewards model can be modified and provide a tool kit of interventions that can be used by medical and surgical nurses. REPORTING METHOD: This paper has adhered to the COREQ guidelines. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER CONTRIBUTE TO THE WIDER GLOBAL CLINICAL COMMUNITY?: This paper outlines and discusses the action research approach undertaken to work with general hospital nurses to modify mental health nurses' Safewards interventions into their clinical practice. This paper provides evidence of the 'real world' application of Safewards interventions by medical and surgical nurses in general hospital wards. This paper presents qualitative findings based on focus group methods to highlight the narratives of general nurses and their experiences of violence.

Nurses' experiences when conducting the mental state examination (MSE): A scoping review.

The Mental State Examination (MSE) is an assessment framework used to facilitate the collection of subjective and objective data about a person's current mental state. There is a lack of understanding of nurses' experiences when conducting the MSE. The aim of this scoping review is to identify, examine and summarize the available literature relating to nurses' experiences when conducting the MSE. A scoping review was conducted using Arksey and O'Malley (2005) framework to review, examine and synthesize the available literature on nurses' experiences with the MSE. A PRISMA flow diagram was used to describe the systematic literature search. Six databases (APA PsycInfo, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed, ProQuest, and Scopus) were searched including reference lists of eligible sources. Google Scholar, Trove and Proquest Dissertation and Thesis were searched for grey literature. Twelve articles included in this scoping review considered nurses experiences when conducting the MSE. The principles of thematic analysis were used to synthesize the studies. Three distinct themes were identified from the literature: (i) Nurses' role and the MSE, (ii) Nurses' competence and knowledge when conducting the MSE, and (iii) Nurses' confidence when conducting the MSE. The results of this scoping review identified the MSE as a component of the mental health nursing role and a core competency of mental health telephone triage services. The MSE was used by nurses in the Emergency department (ED), acute in-patient and community mental health settings, including mental health telephone triage services. Nurses working in EDs and acute in-patient mental health settings experienced a lack of confidence and competence, including a knowledge deficit in conducting the MSE in comparison to nurses working in community mental health settings. Community mental health nurses identified the importance of conducting an MSE higher than acute in-patient mental health nurses. This review identified the need for evidence-based research related to the MSE and its application in nursing practice. Evidence-based research will inform the development of MSE guidelines and policies, thus, enhance mental health nursing practice related to the MSE, including improving and strengthening consumer-nurse therapeutic alliance in acute in-patient mental health settings.

A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study of Nurses' and Family Members' Perceptions on Priority and Satisfaction in Meeting the Needs of Family Members at the Emergency Department.

INTRODUCTION: Family members experience considerable physiological, psychological, and emotional pressure when accompanying a critically ill relative in the emergency department. The culture and context of care influence the needs of the family, and a thorough understanding of these needs by health care professionals is essential to providing patient- and family-centered care. This study aimed to compare nurses' and family members' perceptions of the priorities of family member needs and their satisfaction with meeting those needs in the emergency department. METHODS: A comparative, cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. Participants were 140 family members of patients receiving care and 122 nurses working in the emergency department in hospitals of Tabriz University of Medical Science, in Iran. The data were collected through Critical Care Family Needs Inventory-ED and analyzed with SPSS Statistics software. RESULTS: Family members rated their care needs as significantly greater than did nurses (129.45 [31.5] vs 124.45 [24.8], P = .003). Families rated their needs as having been met significantly less than the nurses estimated (103.6 [17.6] vs 110.8 [19.61], P < .05). DISCUSSION: The perceived importance of the patient's family's needs differed from the viewpoints of the patient's family members and the nurses. In addition, emergency nurses overestimated the extent to which family members' needs were met compared with family members. To more adequately gauge and meet the needs of family members, nurses need to acquire more knowledge about patient family needs in the emergency department.

Fear, stress, anxiety, depression and insomnia related to COVID-19 among undergraduate nursing students: An international survey.

The emergence of COVID-19 has produced unprecedented change in daily life activities leading to major impacts on psychological wellbeing and sleep among individuals worldwide. The study aimed to assess levels of fear, stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia among undergraduate nursing students in four countries two years after the start of the pandemic. An international, multi-centre cross-sectional electronic survey was conducted between December 2021 and April 2022. An on-line questionnaire was distributed via Qualtrics® and JISC® software. Instruments included the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Insomnia Severity Index, and a demographics and academic background questionnaire. The independent variables included demographic and academic backgrounds, while fear level, stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia were the dependent variables. A total of 918 undergraduate nursing students from KSA, Oman, UK, and UAE were participants in the study. Students presented with stress (91.6%), anxiety (69.1%), depression (59.8%), and insomnia (73.2%). The participants' mean Fear of COVID-19 Scale score was 12.97 (SD = 6.14). There were significant positive relationships between fear of COVID-19, stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Undergraduate nursing students experienced moderate to severe levels of Fear of COVID-19, stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological intervention and peer support are needed to reduce the long-term adverse outcomes of mental health problems and insomnia. It is important to introduce education about crisis management of infectious disease during pandemics into the nursing curriculum to increase student knowledge and improve their preparedness for such emergencies.

Student nurses' experiences of workplace violence: A mixed methods systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the prevalence of student-directed violence on clinical placement and description of their related experience during clinical placements. DESIGN: Mixed methods systematic review and meta-analysis conducted following Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines and reported according to Preferred Reporting of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. DATA SOURCES: CINAHL, Embase, Medline, Proquest, PsycINFO and Google Scholar. REVIEW METHODS: Included studies were peer reviewed, published primary studies where pre-registration nursing students were surveyed about their experiences of physical, verbal, or sexual aggression, bullying or racism during clinical placement. Studies were quality assessed but not excluded based on the result. A convergent segregated approach to synthesis and integration was undertaken. Prevalence data were extracted and pooled using both random and quality effects models; separate analyses were conducted by violence type, source, and region. Qualitative data were thematically analysed. RESULTS: 14,894 student nurses from 42 studies were included across the meta-analyses. There was substantial heterogeneity in the included data. Pooled prevalence rates ranged from racism 12.2 % to bullying 58.2 %. Bullying (38.8 %) and physical aggression (10.2 %) were most perpetrated by nurses whereas sexual aggression was perpetrated mostly by patients (64.2 %) and physicians (18.6 %). Qualitative findings identified students' descriptions of reasons for, effects of, strategies for dealing with and higher education establishments' responsibilities with regards to workplace violence. CONCLUSIONS: Student nurses commonly experience violence during their clinical placements. Given the potential debilitating physical and psychological sequelae of all forms of violence then this study further emphasises the need to use multiple strategies to prevent violence and to better equip student nurses to manage potentially violent incidents, their responses to violence, and to whistle blow or report when they are subject to violence.

Mental health nurses' attitudes towards risk assessment: An integrative systematic review.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Risk assessment and risk management are considered to be important practices carried out by mental health nurses. Risk assessment can help keep mental health service users' safe, but some nurses see it as a 'tick the box' exercise. Some studies have looked at nurses' attitudes to risk assessment but no one has systematically described all the studies. WHAT THE ARTICLE ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: Mental health nurses' attitudes towards risk assessment are diverse with regard to its legitimacy, conduct and value. This study provides an organised framework to help understand the areas in which these different attitudes occur. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Since attitudes can influence clinical practice, nurses need to reflect on how they view risk assessment. Further research is required to investigate whether particular attitudes are positive or negative and whether attitudes can be changed. ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Understanding nurses' attitudes towards risk assessment could inform education and practice improvements. AIM/QUESTION: To explore mental health nurses' attitudes towards risk assessment. METHOD: An integrative systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42023398287). Multiple databases (PubMed, CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO) were searched for primary studies of mental health nurses' attitudes towards risk assessment. Qualitative studies were subject to inductive coding and thematic analysis; quantitative data were integrated with emerging themes. RESULTS: Eighteen articles were included. Qualitative studies commonly lacked rigorous analyses. Four themes emerged: underlying purpose and legitimacy of risk assessment (philosophical orientation); use of structured approaches (technical orientation); value of intuition (intuitive orientation); and service user involvement (relationships orientation). There were contradictory study findings in each thematic category indicating different attitudes among mental health nurses. DISCUSSION: Mental health nurses' attitudes towards risk assessment vary in four key domains. Survey studies suggest they are more approving of structured approaches to risk assessment than many qualitative studies suggest. There is a need to develop a valid measure of attitudes to risk assessment. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This review could help health organisations to develop strategies to improve their risk assessment policies and practice. There is a need to develop structured training and education programmes.

NHS mental health services' policies on leave for detained patients in England and Wales: A national audit.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: 'Leave' is a common occurrence for patients detained in mental health settings. The term covers multiple scenarios, for example short periods to get off the ward through to extended periods at home prior to discharge. Despite the frequency and importance of leave, there is very little research about how it is implemented and whether, and in what circumstances, it is effective. While there is legislation about leave in the Mental Health Act (1983) mental health services are free to implement their own policies or not to implement one at all. WHAT THE PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: The leave policies of NHS mental health services in England and Wales are highly inconsistent. The extent to which policies are consistent with guidance differs depending on which service is providing care. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: It is very likely that, because of inconsistencies between services and policies, practice also differs. Clinicians need to understand their responsibilities in the leave process to ensure that patients are supported in their recovery journey. Policymakers need to revisit leave policies in light of evidence from this study. ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Considerable guidance is available about the implementation of leave for detained patients, but individual mental health services are free to determine their own policies. AIM: To determine how consistent leave policies of NHS mental health services in England and Wales are with relevant guidance and legislation. METHOD: A national audit of NHS mental health services leave policies. Data were obtained through web searching and Freedom of Information requests. Policies were assessed against 65 criteria across four domains (administrative, Responsible Clinician, types of leave and nursing). Definitions of leave-related terms were extracted and analysed. RESULTS: Fifty-seven (91.9%) policies were obtained. There were considerable inconsistencies in how policies were informed by relevant guidance: Domain-level consistency was 72.3% (administrative), 64.0% (Responsible Clinician), 44.7% (types of leave) and 41.9% (nursing). Definitions varied widely and commonly differed from those in relevant guidance. DISCUSSION: Mental health professionals are inconsistently supported by the policy in their leave-related practice. This could potentially contribute to inconsistent practice and leave-related patient outcomes. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: To ensure patients are treated fairly clinicians need to be aware of their responsibilities around leave. In some services, they will need to go beyond their organization's stated policy to ensure this occurs.

A Systematic Review of Violence Risk Assessment Tools Currently Used in Emergency Care Settings.

INTRODUCTION: Violence risk assessment is commonplace in mental health settings and is gradually being used in emergency care. The aim of this review was to explore the efficacy of undertaking violence risk assessment in reducing patient violence and to identify which tool(s), if any, are best placed to do so. METHODS: CINAHL, Embase, Medline, and Web of Science database searches were supplemented with a search of Google Scholar. Risk of bias assessments were made for intervention studies, and the quality of tool development/testing studies was assessed against scale development criteria. Narrative synthesis was undertaken. RESULTS: Eight studies were included. Three existing violence risk assessment tools featured across the studies, all of which were developed for use with mental health patients. Three newly developed tools were developed for emergency care, and 1 additional tool was an adaptation of an extant tool. Where tested, the tools demonstrated that they were able to predict patient violence, but did not reduce restraint use. The quality issues of the studies are a significant limitation and highlight the need for additional research in this area. DISCUSSION: There is a paucity of high-quality evidence evaluating the psychometric properties of violence risk assessment tools currently used along the emergency care pathway. Multiple tools exist, and they could have a role in reducing violence in emergency care. However, the limited testing of their psychometric properties, acceptability, feasibility, and usability in emergency care means that it is not possible to favor one tool over another until further research is conducted.

Randomized controlled trials of mental health nurse-delivered interventions: A systematic review.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Well conducted randomized controlled trials provide the highest level of evidence of effectiveness of healthcare interventions, including those delivered by mental health nurses. Trials have been conducted over the years but there has not been a comprehensive review since 2005, and never one including studies conducted outside the UK. WHAT THE PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: The paper provides a comprehensive overview of results from randomized controlled trials of mental health nurse-delivered interventions conducted in the UK, Ireland, US, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada and reported 2005 to 2020. It highlights that the trial evidence is limited and offers only partial evidence for interventions that are central to mental health nursing practice. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Much mental health nursing practice is not supported by the highest level trial evidence. Mental health nurses need to carefully select evidence on which to base their practice both from the mental health nursing literature and beyond. Mental health nurses and other stakeholders should demand greater investment in trials to strengthen the evidence base. ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Nurses are the largest professional disciplinary group working in mental health services and have been involved in numerous trials of nursing-specific and multidisciplinary interventions. Systematic appraisal of relevant research findings is rare. AIM: To review trials from the core Anglosphere (UK, US, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand) published from 2005 to 2020. METHOD: A systematic review reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses. Comprehensive electronic database searches were conducted. Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials of mental health nurse-delivered interventions conducted in relevant countries. The risk of bias was independently assessed. Synthesis involved integration of descriptive statistics of standardized metrics and study bias. RESULTS: Outcomes from 348 between-group comparisons were extracted from K = 51 studies (N = 11,266 participants), Standardized effect sizes for 68 (39 very small/small, 29 moderate/large) statistically significant outcomes from 30 studies were calculable. All moderate/large effect sizes were at risk of bias. DISCUSSION: Trial evidence of effective mental health nurse-delivered interventions is limited. Many studies produced few or no measurable benefits; none demonstrated improvements related to personal recovery. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Mental health nurses should look beyond gold standard RCT evidence, and to evidence-based interventions that have not been trialled with mental health nurse delivery.

Interventions to Improve Social Climate in Acute Mental Health Inpatient Settings: Systematic Review of Content and Outcomes.

Introduction: Quantification of the social climate of mental health care environments has received considerable attention. Investigations of the resulting measures indicate that social climate is associated with individual outcomes including patient satisfaction and staff burnout. Interest has grown in developing interventions to improve social climate in anticipation of subsequent related benefits. This study aimed to identify and critically review research about the effectiveness of interventions for improving social climate in inpatient adult acute mental health settings. Methods: Systematic review reported in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses. Comprehensive terms were used to search multiple electronic databases from inception to July 2019. Information about intervention type(s), complexity was extracted and study quality was assessed. Results: Twenty-three papers met inclusion criteria of which 20 used a pretest-posttest study design and three employed randomized and/or controlled designs. Interventions were environmental/structural, operational/process-oriented and developmental/person-oriented in nature and they ranged in complexity. The Ward Atmosphere Scale was the most common outcome measure used. Following quality assessment, six studies were judged to be sufficiently robust in terms of quality, theory-base, user-inclusion, and outcomes evaluation to contribute credibly to the evidence base. Of these, four complex person- and process-oriented intervention studies and two less complex structural/environmental intervention studies resulted in positive outcomes. Conclusion: There is limited strong evidence that interventions positively influence measures of ward social climate in acute adult mental health settings. Such measures should not be the sole criterion of success when evaluating change. Decisions about implementing change to improve social climate should be informed by meaningful proxy measures including the views and preferences of service users and other stakeholders. Studies using stronger designs are required to establish the ability of interventions to improve social climate.

Uptake and effects of psychological first aid training for healthcare workers' wellbeing in nursing homes: A UK national survey.

AIMS: Psychological First Aid is a brief intervention based on international guidance from the World Health Organisation. Free to access online training in the intervention was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic in UK. We aimed to determine the uptake of Psychological First Aid training among healthcare workers in care homes in the UK and to assess its effects on their wellbeing. DESIGN: This was a sequential mixed methods design. METHODS: Healthcare workers (nurses and carers) working in care homes in the UK were surveyed about their uptake of Psychological First Aid, their stress, coping efficacy and the key concepts of Psychological First Aid (safety, calmness, hopefulness, connectedness, and accomplishment). Those that completed the Psychological First Aid training were asked to share their experiences via qualitative survey. Data collection was conducted between June and October 2021. Analyses included descriptive statistics and regression analysis. A six step thematic analysis was used to interpret the qualitative data. RESULTS: 388 participants responded to the survey. The uptake of Psychological First Aid training was 37 (9.5%). Psychological first aid was a significant predictor for coping efficacy (ß = 17.54, p = .001). Participants with a physical or mental health condition experienced higher stress and lower coping regardless of PFA training. Four themes were identified from the qualitative analysis: self-awareness and growth, relationships with others, overcoming stress and accessibility. CONCLUSION: While this study suggests some benefits to healthcare workers in care home settings undergoing PFA the poor uptake of the training warrants further investigation. IMPACT: Care home staff need psychological support. This gap remains as few completed PFA training. This is the first study in UK and worldwide to look at the effects of psychological first aid on stress and coping in this population and it warrants further investigation.

Pre-registration nursing students' anxiety and academic concerns after the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The pandemic and its related social restrictions have led to many uncertainties in nurse education, including the fear of infection in clinical learning settings and the challenge of remote learning. The modification of clinical and academic environments generated anxiety and academic concerns among nursing students. OBJECTIVES: To explore the main determinants of anxiety related to the clinical and classroom environments in nurse education after the second wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic. DESIGN: Multicentre cross-sectional study. SETTINGS: Ten universities offering nursing bachelor programs in central and southern Italy. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 842 nursing students. METHODS: From April to July 2021, the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and the Altered Student Study Environment Tool were administered to assess, respectively, students' anxiety and their concerns about the study environment. A regression model was tested. RESULTS: Most of the nursing students were female (76.6 %), living with family (70.9 %), and full-time students (85.7 %); 44.6 % were third-year of Bachelor in Nursing students. The majority of the participants (88.5 %) showed a level of anxiety. The statistically significant predictors of anxiety levels were concerns about grade attainment (ß=0.42, p < 0.001) in the total sample, and, among the first-year students, the completion of clinical placement (ß=0.14, p = 0.047). CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest a need for the redesign of teaching activities and clinical learning experiences to ensure academic outcomes and to preserve students' psychological well-being. Models of learning environments' dynamic adaptation and ongoing psychological support should be implemented to develop tailored interventions.

Psychometric Properties of the Insomnia Severity Index Among Arabic Chronic Diseases Patients.

Introduction: The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) is a self-administrated questionnaire most frequently used to assess insomnia in clinical and non-clinical populations. Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Arabic ISI among patients diagnosed with chronic diseases. Methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive correlational design was used. A total of 1,005 patients with chronic diseases completed the seven items of the Arabic ISI version. The scale was assessed in terms of acceptability, internal consistency, and validity. Construct validity was explored with the use of principal factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, to examine the dimensional structure of the ISI. Results: The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the Arabic ISI was 0.82, which shows good reliability. The total ISI score did not have floor or ceiling effects. There was evidence of discriminate validity. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicated two factors (four items loading on Factor I and three items loading on Factor II). The construct validity of PCA in terms of two factors was explored by confirmatory factor analysis to examine the dimensional structure of the ISI. The confirmatory factor analysis showed an absolute fit for the two-factor model. Conclusion: The results support the two-factor structure of ISI. The Arabic version of the ISI demonstrated good reliability and validity for assessing insomnia in patients diagnosed with chronic diseases.

Psychological first aid for workers in care and nursing homes: systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The Covid-19 pandemic has produced unprecedented challenges across all aspects of health and social care sectors globally. Nurses and healthcare workers in care homes have been particularly impacted due to rapid and dramatic changes to their job roles, workloads, and working environments, and residents' multimorbidity. Developed by the World Health Organisation, Psychological First Aid (PFA) is a brief training course delivering social, emotional, supportive, and pragmatic support that can reduce the initial distress after disaster and foster future adaptive functioning. OBJECTIVES: This review aimed to synthesise findings from studies exploring the usefulness of PFA for the well-being of nursing and residential care home staff. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted across 15 databases (Social Care Online, Kings Fund Library, Prospero, Dynamed, BMJ Best Practice, SIGN, NICE, Ovid, Proquest, Campbell Library, Clinical Trials, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Ebsco CINAHL, and Cochrane Library), identifying peer-reviewed articles published in English language from database inception to 20th June 2021. RESULTS: Of the 1,159 articles screened, 1,146 were excluded at title and abstract; the remaining 13 articles were screened at full text, all of which were then excluded. CONCLUSION: This review highlights that empirical evidence of the impact of PFA on the well-being of nursing and residential care home staff is absent. PFA has likely been recommended to healthcare staff during the Covid-19 pandemic. The lack of evidence found here reinforces the urgent need to conduct studies which evaluates the outcomes of PFA particularly in the care home staff population.

Coercive containment measures for the management of self-cutting versus general disturbed behaviour: Differences in use and attitudes among mental health nursing staff.

Self-harm is common in mental health facilities, and coercive containment measures are sometimes used to manage it. Nurses' attitudes towards these measures have been investigated in relation to disturbed behaviour in general, but rarely to self-harm specifically. We therefore investigated mental health nurses' use of and attitudes towards coercive measures (seclusion, restraint, intermittent and constant observations, forced intramuscular medication, and PRN medication) for self-cutting management compared with for disturbed behaviours in general using a cross-sectional, repeated measures survey design. Participants were N = 164 mental health nursing staff. Data collection was via a questionnaire comprising validated attitudinal measures. The study is reported in line with STROBE guidelines. Physical restraint (36.6%), forced intramuscular medication (32.3%) and seclusion (48.2%) had reportedly been used by individuals for self-cutting management. Respondents disapproved of using each coercive measure for self-cutting more than they did for disturbed behaviour in general with the exception of PRN medication. Attitudes to coercive measures differed across target behaviours. Hence, nurses who had used each measure for managing self-cutting disapproved of it less for that purpose than those who had not. Nurses who had used coercive techniques for self-cutting management had less desirable attitudes to their use. We cannot say whether prior use of these techniques led to increased approval or whether greater approval led to an increased willingness to use them. Reducing the use of coercive techniques for self-harm will require attitudes that support its use to be challenged. Less coercive techniques should be encouraged. Harm reduction techniques offer one such alternative.