- Internal Code :
- Subject Code : BHS30006
- University : Southern Cross University
- Subject Name : Psychology
Promote of the Non-Judgmental Behavior of Registered Nurses Towards Mentally Ill Individuals to Prevent Stigma
Executive Summary
The problem is the development of stigma in a mentally ill individual due to the judgmental behavior of registered nurses (RN). Due to poor cultural knowledge and limited knowledge about mental health, the registered nurse with such a negative attitude can lead to the generation of feelings of stigma and discrimination in mentally ill individuals. This will result in the delivery of poor health care services. It is suggested that if the RN is trained and educated about mental health, positive behavior, and stigma complications and then the outcomes or the learning should be checked or evaluated by monitoring or by conducting interviews and using questionnaires; then the issues can be resolved. This will ensure the following deliverables: increased recovery rate, less hospital stay, fair and respectful nursing care services, health promotion, and disease prevention, the strong relationship between patients and nurses.
Background
It is found in many cases that due to the judgmental behavior of registered nurses the mentally ill individuals are unable to express their wishes or feeling during their treatments. They face stigma and discomfort as the judging behavior of the nurse makes them feel discriminated, lonely and the development of fear in the mentally ill individual (Flaskerud, 2018). With the non-judgmental behavior of the nurses, there will b many benefits like effective and comprehensive care services and the promotion of good health. The judgmental behavior of registered nurses could be due to differences in culture, appearances, age, sex, gender, HIV status, health state, religion, community, and many others (Gaddis et al., 2018).
Such an attitude of the RN promotesthe violation of professionalism, code of conduct, and ethics in nursing by not delivering safe and quality care to the individual. An RN with knowledge of nursing practice standards and ethics in nursing will ensure fair care with no harm. It should be ensured to deliver respectful and holistic care to every patient. As per the ethical principles it the right of the patient to get care services that promote his/her health respects his/her wishes and ensure a patient-centered approach (Crowe et al., 2020). According to Bauman(2016), if the nurse is educated about the establishing non-judgmental behavior by effective communication with face-to-face interaction with the mentally ill individuals, recording of feedback from the patient, complete information about the mental health status of the individual, and educating the mentally ill individual about his/her health condition can prevent the risk of the feeling of stigma and discrimination. If such behavior is maintained by the RN then there will be the development of a strong relationship between the patient and the nurses and there will be the delivery of quality care. The RN should be encouraged not to show biases while delivering nursing care to the patient. Moreover, if they notice any of their co-workershowing behavior that is leading to the development of stigma and related risks then the authorities should be informed immediately to take action.
Methodology of Intervention
The intervention involves an initial stage of conduction of sessions and programs for the registered nurse to educate and aware of mentally ill individuals and behavior that lead to stigma development. They should be trained on how to ask questions/communicate with a mentally ill individual so that he/she does not feel judged. For this, there should be conduction of sessions or awareness programs for registered nurses and mentally ill individuals. Written consent will be taken from the participants before the initiation of the sessions to ensure ethical considerations. The intervention will be ensured in a different language to ensure that the people are not facing any language barrier. The parents should also be involved to ensure patient-centered care services. It should be conducted in hospitals in rural and remote areas. At later stages, the RN should be monitored during his/her interaction with individual those needs mental health care services.
The RN should be questioned about the skills used to deliver care to their patients while the delivery of care and time devoted to each mental patient’s care. This will ensure whether the nurse knows nursing skills or standards or not. The RN can also be checked for her behavior by monitoring the handover or medical orders prepared for the mentally ill patient. A non-judgmental registered nurse will ensure timely assessment, updating, and management of medical records or bedside handovers of the mentally ill patient under her responsibility (Wang et al., 2018). The patients should be asked about the behavior of the RN with him/her such as respect for choice, asking for permission before touching, comfort level, and satisfaction. For evaluation, the responses from the co-workers and parents should also be recorded. If it is found that nurses are not being professional and ethical in their practice with cases of judgmental behavior being reported against them then first, legal actions should be taken and second, they should be trained more.
Deliverables
This intervention will help the hospitals to ensure that the registered nurses in the mental ward are delivering safe, respectful, and fair care services to the patient. It will help the mentally ill individual to get aware of his/her health status and express the issues faced by him/her during the care and with a reduction in stigma, the chances of a fast recovery and health promotion will also increase. An increase in the non-judgmental behavior of the nurse will deliver quality care that will ensure safety and holistic care services; ultimately such attitude will develop the values of professionalism in the registered nurse. Moreover, with reduced stigma and increased non-judgmental behavior of the nurse, the chances of self-care will also increase resulting in good health. It can be evaluated every month by recording the feedbacks from the patients, their family members, and registered nurses by face-to-face interviews and questionnaires; actions against the lawless behavior should be actively taken as per the requirements.
References
Bauman, N. J. (2016). The stigma of mental health in athletes: Are mental toughness and mental health seen as contradictory in elite sport?.BMJJournals.http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-095570
Crowe, A., & Kim, T. (2020).Ethnicity, life satisfaction, stress, familiarity, and stigma toward mental health treatment. Journal of Counseling & Development, 98(1), 83-93.https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12302
Flaskerud, J. H. (2018). Stigma and psychiatric/mental health nursing. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 39(2), 188-191.https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840.2017.1307887
Gaddis, S. M., Ramirez, D., & Hernandez, E. L. (2018). Contextualizing public stigma: Endorsed mental health treatment stigma on college and university campuses. Social Science & Medicine, 197, 183-191.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.11.029
Wang, K., Link, B. G., Corrigan, P. W., Davidson, L., & Flanagan, E. (2018).Perceived provider stigma as a predictor of mental health service users' internalized stigma and disempowerment. Psychiatry Research, 259, 526-531.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2017.11.036
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