Emergency nurses' attitudes towards patients committing deliberate self-harm

Abstract

Emergency department (ED) nurses are usually the first providers of care to an ever increasing number of patients presenting with self-harm. This study aimed to investigate ED nurses' attitudes towards individuals committing deliberate self-harm (DSH) as well as the relationship between these attitudes and factors such as nurses' age, gender, nursing grade, qualification and length of A&E experience. Nurses' confidence and perceived competence in dealing with DSH patients' needs were also studied as was the need for nurses to receive continuing professional education. The study adopted a quantitative and descriptive research design that yielded numerical and thus quantifiable data. Sixty ED nurses' attitudes were surveyed using an already established research instrument (ADSHQ questionnaire) once permission was sought from authors McAllister et al. (2002). A total of 33 questionnaires were returned giving a response rate of 55%. The demographic data collected was analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2007 application whereas the summation of attitude scores was done manually. The findings of this study suggested that Maltese ED nurses were favourably disposed towards DSH clients. Trends were identified between the total attitude scores and the demographics considered that is; gender, age, nursing grade, qualification and length of A&E experience. These findings have been discussed in the light of international research. The subject has not been addressed by literature locally. Notwithstanding the limitations of this study, it presents some important recommendations for both theory and practice which may help improve the quality of care reaching DSH clients. Furthermore, this study is a stepping stone towards future research that may further address this subject from a local point of view.