Background: It is known that people with serious mental illness have higher mortality and morbidity rates compared with the general population and the reasons for this are multifaceted. Mental health nurses are in a pivotal position to address physical health inequalities experienced by this population group, but research indicates that they may lack the skills, knowledge, and confidence to provide patient centred and integrated care. It is important to understand the views and experiences of mental health nurses and other key stakeholders regarding physical health care provided to this population group and training to improve physical health care. An initial systematic review with narrative synthesis explored the views and perceptions of key stakeholders (mental health nurses, managers of mental health nurses and trainers) in relation to physical health care training needs of mental health nurses and the effectiveness of training. The results from the review informed the research questions and qualitative design of this empirical study Aim: The aim of the study is to explore the views and experiences of mental health nurses and other key stakeholders about (a) the care given to people with serious mental illness who have physical healthcare needs in acute in-patient mental health settings(b) the training provided to mental health nurses to enable them to provide care to people with serious mental illness who have physical healthcare needs. Methods: The design of the empirical research is a qualitative interview-based study using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun I don’t think anything is wrong” (4) Training success: what does it mean to me? Conclusion: As an original contribution to knowledge, this thesis concludes with discussion which highlights that adequate pre-registration education and post registration training, existence of supportive conditions and culture of care that equally prioritises mental and physical health care shape the delivery of optimal physical health care.
Lamin Jabbie (Thu,) studied this question.