Hughes, F. (2006). Reconnecting with policy: Requirements for survival as a mental health nurse. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services, 44(8), 30–39.
Abstract: This article discusses the disconnection between mental health nurses and policy, and the importance of reconnecting such relationships. It is suggested this will benefit consumers, provide influence in health care policies and, ultimately, contribute to strategies to improve the health of our nation. In this article, the author draws on her own experiences and applies these to a discussion of how mental health nurses can influence and strengthen their relationships with nursing policy.
|
Foster, M. J., Al-Modaq, M., Carter, B., Neill, S., O'Sullivan, T., Quaye, A. A., et al. (2021). Seeing lockdown through the eyes of children from around the world: Reflecting on a children's artwork project. Nursing Praxis in Aotearoa New Zealand, 37(3).
Abstract: Illustrates the impact of the pandemic and children's experiences of lockdowns through their artwork. Describes a cross-cultural project in which members of the International Network for Child and Family-Centered Care collaborated to elicit children's responses to being locked down, compiling their artistic expressions into an eBook. Invites child and family nurses to use the insights provided to inform their interactions with children.
|
Pitama, S., Robertson, P., Cram, F., Gillies, M., Huria, T., & Dalla-Katoa, W. (2007). Meihana model: A clinical assessment framework. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 36(3), 118–125.
Abstract: In 1984 Mason Durie documented a framework for understanding Maori health, Te Whare Tapa Wha, which has subsequently become embedded in Maori health policy. This article presents a specific assessment framework, the Meihana Model, which encompasses the four original cornerstones of Te Whare Tapa Wha, and inserts two additional elements. These form a practice model (alongside Maori beliefs, values and experiences) to guide clinical assessment and intervention with Maori clients and whanau accessing mental health services. This paper outlines the rationale for and background of the Meihana Model and then describes each dimension: whanau, wairua, tinana, hinengaro, taiao and iwi katoa. The model provides a basis for a more comprehensive assessment of clients/whanau to underpin appropriate treatment decisions.
|
Crowe, M., O'Malley, J., & Gordon, S. (2001). Meeting the needs of consumers in the community: A working partnership in mental health in New Zealand. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 35(1), 88–96.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the services that community mental health nurses provide are meeting the needs of consumers in the community. This was a joint project between nurses and consumers. It was a service-specific descriptive research project utilising qualitative methods of data collection and analysis that provides a model for working in partnership. The results of this research identify collaboration in planning care and sharing information as two areas of concern but generally the consumers were very satisfied with the care provided by community mental health nurses. The analysis of the data suggests that consumers value nursing care because nurses provide support in their own home; they help consumers develop strategies for coping with their illness and their life; they provide practical assistance when it is required; they are vigilant about any deterioration or improvement; and they are available and accessible. The results of this study have demonstrated that nurses will remain critical to the success of community-based care because of their ability and willingness to be flexible to the demands of their own organisation and the users of services.
|
Robertson, S., & Thompson, S. (2019). Nursing services in student health clinics in New Zealand tertiary education institutes. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 35(2).
Abstract: Discovers which nursing services are available to students in health clinics in NZ tertiary education institutes and how the clinics are structured. Surveys nurses practising in 16 of 22 institutes with student health services, about the types of services offered. Identifies sexual health, mental health and health education as the primary services, with sexual health and mental health the most utilised. Notes the increasing use of student health services by international students.
|
Phillips, B. N. (2005). A survey of mental health nurses' opinion of barriers and supports for research. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 21(1), 24–32.
Abstract: This paper reports the findings of a preliminary survey of two district health boards, which shows that high workloads and lack of relief staffing appear as the greatest hurdles to mental health nurses participating in practice-based nursing research. A further constraint on their participation is lack of research expertise and experience. Consultative discussions with senior mental health nurses support these conclusions. In this paper, mentoring and flexible research designs are promoted as possible ways of overcoming these barriers.
|
O'Brien, A. J., Hughes, F., & Kidd, J. D. (2006). Mental health nursing in New Zealand primary health care. Contemporary Nurse, 21(1), 142–152.
Abstract: This article describes the move in mental health from institutional care to community arrangements. It draws on international literature and New Zealand health policy, which gives increased emphasis to the role of the primary health care sector in responding to mental health issues. These issues include the need for health promotion, improved detection and treatment of mild to moderate mental illness, and provision of mental health care to some of those with severe mental illness who traditionally receive care in secondary services. These developments challenge specialist mental health nurses to develop new roles which extend their practice into primary health care. In some parts of New Zealand this process has been under way for some time in the form of shared care projects. However developments currently are ad hoc and leave room for considerable development of specialist mental health nursing roles, including roles for nurse practitioners in primary mental health care.
|
Mortensen, A., & Young, N. (2004). Caring for refugees in emergency departments in New Zealand. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 20(2), 24–35.
Abstract: This paper outlines some of the special health needs of people from refugee backgrounds who present in the emergency department, and the role of emergency department nurses in improving care for refugee and migrant peoples. Refugees and asylum seekers represent a significant proportion of attendees in emergency departments in Auckland Hospitals. Culture and ethnicity are a major factor to be considered in addressing the health care needs of this population. Other factors such as the physical and psychological sequelae of the refugee experience, health care experience prior to arrival in New Zealand, poverty, language, and the trauma of resettlement also have a major impact on health care seeking behaviours.
|
Farrow, T., McKenna, B., & O'Brien, A. J. (2002). Initiating committal proceedings 'just in case' with voluntary patients: A critique of nursing practice. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 18(2), 15–23.
Abstract: The authors report a clinical audit that, combined with anecdotal evidence, verifies the practice of putting section 8B medical certificates on the files of voluntary mental health patients at the time of admission. This is seen as a strategy to balance the requirement to support and promote the autonomy of voluntary patients with the need to protect those patients or other people. A conceptual analysis of these issues indicates that such a practice is both legally questionable and ethically inappropriate. The authors suggest an alternative framework for practice that is legally and ethically preferable for both nurses and patients.
|
McKenna, B. (2002). Risk assessment of violence to others: Time for action. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 18(1), 36–43.
Abstract: The author performs a literature search on the topics of risk assessment, dangerousness, aggression, and violence in order to determine an evidence-based approach to risk assessment of patient violence towards others. This is set in the context of possible expansion in the scope of practice of mental health nurses, and the prevalence of nurses being assaulted by patients. In the absence of reliable and valid nursing risk assessment measures, the approach suggested here focuses on the use of observation skills to detect behaviour antecedent to physical assault, and the ability to adapt evidence to specific clinical settings.
|
Crowe, M., Ward, N., Dunnachie, B., & Roberts, M. H. (2006). Characteristics of adolescent depression. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 15(1), 10–18.
Abstract: This is a descriptive study of the characteristics of depression in a sample of 121 adolescents attending an outpatient specialist adolescent mental health service in New Zealand. The adolescents were required to complete two self-report measures to assess presence of depressive symptoms, severity of depression, and particular characteristics of the depression. The findings revealed that irritability was the most common characteristic along with other interpersonal and thought processing symptoms. It is important that mental health nurses are able to identify the specific characteristics of adolescent depression that may differ from adult depression in order to manage this patient population effectively.
|
Thompson, R., & Farrow, T. (1999). The Workbook Portfolio: Facilitating undergraduate student learning in the mental health clinical area. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 14(2), 21–30.
Abstract: This article describes the use of a model that has been developed to assist students in tackling the complex issues surrounding mental health nursing. The Workbook Portfolio has identifiable components that encourage the development of reflective and analytical skills, which allow nurses to practice within an environment that is influenced and determined by a complex, and sometimes contradictory, range of external influences. The article explains the workings of this model so it can be used by educators to for students in the mental health setting.
|
Farrow, T., & O'Brien, A. J. (2005). Discourse analysis of newspaper coverage of the 2001/2002 Canterbury, New Zealand mental health nurses' strike. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 14(3), 187–195.
Abstract: This paper reports on research into print media representations of industrial disputes in Canterbury in 2001, when mental health nurses undertook a variety of strike actions after stalled negotiations with the local district health board. One response to these actions was the temporary reduction of many of the regions' mental health services. The researchers identified themes of juxtaposed but largely deprecatory images of both mental health nursing and of consumers of services. Some professional nursing voices were given print space during the strike; however, these were largely incorporated into existing discourses rather than offering a nursing viewpoint on the strike. The researchers suggest organisational efforts to focus on ways of ensuring that mental health nurses are seen as a legitimate authority by the media.
|
Wiffin, L. (2006). Treating depression during pregnancy: Cognitive behavioural therapy as a treatment option. Available online from Eastern Institute of Technology, 14(1), 8–12.
Abstract: This article reviews the use of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for pregnant women suffering from depressive symptoms. CBT provides a structured, short-term, collaborative process between clinician and client, using strategies and techniques to identify dysfunctional thinking and beliefs, challenge and change these beliefs, then implement new rational beliefs and behaviours. A process of engagement, assessment and conceptualisation is followed by treatment planning and implementation, and modification of dysfunctional thinking and behaviours. Use of CBT to treat depression in women during pregnancy is supported by the literature, especially where pharmacological intervention is declined or contraindicated. Pregnancy can bring stressors that combine with biological factors and core beliefs to contribute to depressive symptoms.
|
Weber, H. (2023). Deciding on a safe site for intramuscular injections in an acute mental health setting. Kaitiaki Nursing Research, 14(1), 58–61.
Abstract: Aims to provide practical guidance for health-care providers to ensure the safe and effective administration of intramuscular injections, when there is the potential for violence and agitation, as well as during personal restraint. Undertakes a realist review of the evidence comparing the dorsogluteal and ventrogluteal sites.
|
