Learning from experience: Using action research to discover consumer needs in post-seclusion debriefing

Area of Science:

• Mental Health Nursing
• Patient Psychology
• Inpatient Care

Background:

• Approximately 16% of consumers experience seclusion during inpatient admissions.
• Seclusion can lead to adverse psychological consequences, yet nursing support practices are under-documented.
• There is a need to understand and improve post-seclusion care and debriefing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine post-seclusion debriefing practices in mental health nursing.
• To investigate current practices, identify consumer and clinician preferences, and explore future possibilities.
• To inform the development of a consumer debriefing training program.

Main Methods:

• An action research project was conducted.
• Focus groups were held with mental health nurses (MHN) and consumer consultants (CC).
• Investigated current debriefing practices and preferences.

Main Results:

• Consumers require assistance managing negative emotions post-seclusion.
• MHN debriefing approaches often focus on mitigation rather than the emotional support preferred by consumers.
• MHN identified potential for debriefing to aid consumer transition between dependency levels; opinions on CC involvement in debriefing were divided.

Conclusions:

• Post-seclusion debriefing needs to better align with consumer preferences for emotional support.
• Training programs for MHN and CC are needed to enhance debriefing practices.
• Further exploration is required regarding the role of CC in the debriefing process.