Health promotion as relational, practical, and structurally constrained work in forensic psychiatric care: a qualitative study on registered nurses’ experiences

This study suggests that registered nurses in forensic psychiatric care experience health promotion as relational, practical, and structurally constrained work within coercive institutional settings. Rather than functioning as a discrete intervention, health promotion appears as an embedded and negotiated aspect of everyday nursing practice. While registered nurses seek to foster participation and well-being, their efforts unfold within institutional arrangements primarily organised around security, risk management, and pharmacological stability. Strengthening organisational support and interprofessional collaboration may enhance the conditions for sustainable health-promoting practice in forensic psychiatric care.