Title : Hope for recovery in mental illness: A nursing priority
Abstract:
Hope is necessary to recovery in mental illness; without it, recovery cannot occur (Leamy, Bird, LeBoutillier, Williams, &Slade, 2011; Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2015; McCauley, McKenna, Keeney, & McLaughlin, 2015). As frontline clinicians, nurses are optimally positioned to influence hope in their patients. The responsibility to promote hope in patientsis communicated within the nursing literature; however nurses’experience of operationalizing this need into practice has been little explored. This study expands on existing hope research through exploration of how nurses perceive the role of hope and their role in fostering hope in the recovery of persons with mental illness. This study utilizes semi-structured interviews to explore mental health nurses experiences of fostering hope in their patients with mental illness. The qualitative research method, Interpretive Descriptionis employed to inductively conceptualize the experience of fostering hope. The results of this study indicate key interpersonal nursing interventions in the promotion of recovery in persons with mental illness, and describe the impact of systems and historical barriers to hope. Conclusions suggest building hope-fostering capacity in mental health nurses through education on specific hope interventions.
Audience Take Away:
• The audience will reconsider the functions and value of the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship, review current theory of hope in recovery, and gain an understanding of factors impacting hope and thus recovery in persons with mental illness.
