Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association
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J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc · May 2021
Access to Mental Healthcare in the 21st Century: An Evolutionary Concept Analysis.
One of the most important aspects of receiving medical care is access to that care. For people with mental illness who have greater healthcare needs and are at risk for poor health outcomes, reduced access to care constitutes a crisis. While the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic continues to affect the United States, specifying what it means to have access to mental healthcare is more critical than ever. ⋯ The concept of access to mental healthcare is often used stagnantly across disciplines to create health policies, yet the concept is transformative. Future research requires up-to-date operational definitions of access to mental healthcare to target interdisciplinary approaches.
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J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc · Mar 2021
Achieving Patient Satisfaction: Utilizing Telehealth Via an Academic-Practice Partnership.
Academic-practice partnerships are a key component of the provision of innovative patient-centered care throughout a health care system. As consumers gain access to more health care options, patient satisfaction is becoming increasingly important. Patients' satisfaction depends on their perception during utilization of health care services. AIM: The purpose of the project was to assess patients' level of satisfaction with the utilization of a telehealth service to receive psychiatric-mental health care. ⋯ As a positive association was found between patient satisfaction and the utilization of telehealth as part of an academic-clinical partnership, results suggest that the project was a worthwhile innovative endeavor. The telehealth intervention proved to be a sufficient alternative method of in-person follow-up visits for patients receiving treatment for psychiatric-mental health disorders.
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J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc · Jan 2021
ReviewPsychoanalytic Perspectives on Moral Injury in Nurses on the Frontlines of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
To raise awareness of the potential for moral injury in nurses working on the frontlines of COVID-19 patient care and to present aspects of mental functioning that may increase the likelihood of psychological distress. Approaches that draw on psychoanalytic thinking to support frontline nurses' mental health are explained. ⋯ Mental health professionals need to be aware of the mental minefields that frontline nurses must navigate when providing care that, due to circumstances beyond their control, may be morally ambiguous. Educating nurses about the meaning of their own emotional and psychic responses amid the realities in the field may help to decrease the damaging effects of moral injury.
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J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc · Jan 2021
Containment of a COVID-19 Outbreak in an Inpatient Geriatric Psychiatry Unit.
The first known COVID-19 outbreak in a long-term care facility in the United States was identified on February 28, 2020, in King County, Washington. That facility became the initial U.S. epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic when they discovered 129 cases associated with the outbreak (81 residents, 34 staff members, and 14 visitors) and 23 persons died. The vulnerability of the elderly population, shared living and social spaces, suboptimal infection control practices, and prolonged contact between residents were identified as contributing factors to the rapid spread of the disease. The first known case of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak in a U.S. inpatient geriatric psychiatry unit was also in King County, Washington, and occurred soon afterward on March 11th, 2020. Between March 11 and March 18, nine inpatients and seven staff members were confirmed to have SARS-CoV-2 infection. This article examines how the swift identification and isolation of confirmed patients, an enhanced infection prevention protocol, and engagement of frontline psychiatric care staff prevented a catastrophic outcome in a vulnerable population. ⋯ We share our learnings and preventative infection control measures that can be adapted to a variety of settings to prevent or contain future outbreaks of COVID-19.