Nurses' views regarding caring for adolescents in an adult acute psychiatric ward

Abstract

This research study sought to explore the views of nurses regarding the delivery of care to adolescent patients in an adult acute psychiatric ward. Eight nurses were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule which was developed for the purposes of this study. All the participants worked within a ward which hosted a mixed population of adult and adolescent female patients with mental health problems. A thematic analysis of the data, revealed three main themes which collectively represent and illustrate views that nurses hold regarding the care of adolescents in an adult psychiatric ward. These were: (1) Activities for patients, (2) Human resources and (3) Mixed emotions of nurses. These were discussed against the specific context of the study and the backdrop of the literature. A series of recommendations stemming from the findings are identified in an attempt to contribute to the enhancement of care delivery and the development of. policy pertaining to care organisation. Strengths of the study include the scientific rigour with which the data was collected and analysed, whilst the limited generabilisability of the findings to other contexts is a significant limitation of the study.