(September 30, 2020) ECT Nurses Experience from Ireland
Out on PubMed, from nurses in Ireland, is this paper:
Background: There is a considerable dearth of literature on attitudes towards Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) as a treatment for severe depression. Despite being a highly effective treatment, it is still stigmatised even among professionals. Understanding perceptions and knowledge related to ECT treatment among healthcare providers is important for ensuring that treatment can be safely explored as a treatment option with patients.
Aim: The overall aim of this study is to explore the views of mental health nurses who provide nursing care to people receiving ECT for severe depressive illness in a mental health setting.
Methods: This is a qualitative study using focus groups (n=2) with 14 mental health nurses who had a minimum of three months experience caring for older adults receiving ECT. Transcripts were subjected to a thematic analysis. Full ethical approval was granted for this study.
Results: In total, four themes were identified exploring attitudinal changes, managing patient dignity, reflecting changes in practice and managing the unknown. In general, participants experienced ECT as a positive treatment option for adults with severe depressive illness contributing to an enhanced quality of life.
Conclusion: Findings indicate a desire to improve person centred care for patients undergoing ECT. Educational support for nurses who work in this area would improve confidence on work practices and lead to improved patient experience. Mental health personnel without direct experience of the treatment should be exposed to educational modules to decrease stigma and to best facilitate informed decision making amongst the patient cohort.
Keywords: electroconvulsive therapy; mental health nursing; stigma.
And from the text:
Similar to findings by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2003), the views of mental health nurses who provide care for adults are in general positive toward the treatment of ECT for severe depressive illness. These positive views are based on observations of recovery in patient groups as opposed to educational support. Additional education would therefore support mental health experience by underpinning it with evidence, thereby benefitting nursing practice and patient satisfaction. This is an important finding as it implies that stigma may exist in the wider mental health nurse population who have not benefitted from direct experience in an ECT department. This research also demonstrated that those providing nursing care want to maintain a duty of care to preserve the dignity of patients experiencing severe depressive illness while undergoing ECT. In addition, ensuring patient care remained individual and not a mechanical task was considered important in terms of maintaining person centred care. Engaging in reflective practice and acknowledging these challenges will address this potential for complacency and support nursing care and in turn patient satisfaction. The improvements identified both in ECT administration and nursing practice around ECT was felt to be positive in terms of contributing to the quality of life of the person who experiences severe depressive illness. Engaging the patient and family members prior to commencement of ECT treatment may go some way to ease the burden of the unknown.
This is a helpful contribution to the nursing literature on ECT. While there is nothing new here about the message that familiarity with modern ECT engenders respect for the importance/efficacy of the treatment, the call for better nursing education is welcome.
Comments
Post a Comment