McMullen, S., Panagioti, M. orcid.org/0000-0002-7153-5745, Planner, C. et al. (7 more authors) (2023) Supporting carers to improve patient safety and maintain their well‐being in transitions from mental health hospitals to the community: A prioritisation nominal group technique. Health Expectations. ISSN 1369-6513
Abstract
Introduction
Carers of people with mental illness may face distinct challenges, including navigating fragmented health and social services during discharge from mental health hospitals. Currently, limited examples of interventions that support carers of people with mental illness in improving patient safety during transitions of care exist. We aimed to identify problems and solutions to inform future carer-led discharge interventions, which is imperative for ensuring patient safety and the well-being of carers.
Methods
The nominal group technique was used which combines both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods in four distinct phases: (1) problem identification, (2) solution generation, (3) decision making and (4) prioritisation. The aim was to combine expertise from different stakeholder groups (patients, carers and academics with expertise in primary/secondary care, social care or public health) to identify problems and generate solutions.
Results
Twenty-eight participants generated potential solutions that were grouped into four themes. The most acceptable solution for each was as follows: (1) ‘Carer Involvement and Improving Carer Experience’ a dedicated family liaison worker, (2) ‘Patient Wellness and Education’ adapting and implementing existing approaches to help implement the patient care plan, (3) ‘Carer Wellness and Education’ peer/social support interventions for carers and (4) ‘Policy and System Improvements’ understanding the co-ordination of care.
Conclusion
The stakeholder group concurred that the transition from mental health hospitals to the community is a distressing period, where patients and carers are particularly vulnerable to safety and well-being risks. We identified numerous feasible/acceptable solutions to enable carers to improve patient safety and maintain their own mental wellbeing.
Patient and Public Contribution
Patient and public contributors were represented in the workshop and the focus of the workshop was to identify the problems they faced and co-design potential solutions. Patient and public contributors were involved in the funding application and study design.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Authors. Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | care transitions, carers, discharge, inpatient services, mental health, nominal group technique |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Psychology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 03 Aug 2023 08:27 |
Last Modified: | 03 Aug 2023 08:27 |
Published Version: | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/hex.13... |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/hex.13813 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:201644 |