Kristina Haglund

Locked entrance doors at psychiatric wards – Advantages and disadvantages according to voluntarily admitted patients

Entrance doors at wards where psychiatric care is provided are sometimes locked, which is not the case at wards where somatic care is provided. How locked entrance doors at psychiatric wards are experienced by patients has been investigated to a very limited extent. The aim was to describe voluntarily admitted patients’ perceptions of advantages and disadvantages about being cared for on a psychiatric ward with a locked entrance door. Audio-taped, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 patients voluntarily admitted at psychiatric wards. Content analysis revealed six categories of advantages and 11 categories of disadvantages. Most advantages were categorized as “protects patients and staff against ‘the outside’ ”, “provides patients with a secure and efficient care” and “provides staff with a sense of control over the patients”. Most disadvantages were categorized as “makes patients feel confined”, “makes patients feel dependent on the staff” and “makes patients feel worse emotionally”. Patients perceive a variety of advantages and disadvantages, for themselves, their visitors and staff, connected to locked entrance doors at psychiatric wards. A locked door may make the ward appear as both a prison and a sanctuary. It is important that staff try to minimize patients’ concerns connected to the locked door.

Investigation into the acceptability of door locking to staff, patients, and visitors on acute psychiatric wards

There is disagreement among psychiatric professionals about whether the doors of acute psychiatric wards should be kept locked to prevent patients from leaving and harming themselves or others. This study explored patient, staff, and visitor perceptions about the acceptability of locking the ward door on acute psychiatric inpatient wards. Interviews were conducted with 14 registered nurses, 15 patients, and six visitors from three different acute wards. Findings revealed commonalities across all groups, with general agreement that locking the door reduced absconding. Staff expressed feelings of guilt, embarrassment, and fear of being blamed when a patient absconded. Staff also reported that open wards created anxious vigilance to prevent an abscond and increased workload in allocating staff to watch the door, whereas staff on partially-locked doors also perceived an increased workload in letting people in and out of the ward. Patients had mixed feelings about the status of the door, expressing depression, a sense of stigma, and low self-esteem when the door was locked. The issue of balancing safety and security on acute psychiatric wards against the autonomy of patients is not easily resolved, and requires focused research to develop innovative nursing practices.

Patients' experience of auricular acupuncture during protracted withdrawal.

Accessible summary Interest has grown in complementary treatment methods such as acupuncture. In addiction treatment auricular acupuncture has been used to relieve difficult abstinence symptoms. The specific protocol used follows the definition used by the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA). The report describes 15 patients’ experiences of receiving auricular acupuncture during the abstinence period after elimination of problematic alcohol and illicit drug use. The patients in the study mainly experienced positive effects of receiving NADA. The greatest gains were a reinforced sense of relaxation and well-being, peacefulness and harmony, and new behaviours. The treatment supported some of the respondents in staying away from alcohol and drugs and it ameliorated their abstinence symptoms. No one experienced any negative side-effects. Abstract Over the last decades interest in using auricular acupuncture for substance dependence care has increased. The specific auricular acupuncture protocol used follows the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) definition. This paper describes patients’ experiences of receiving auricular acupuncture during protracted withdrawal. Interviews were conducted with 15 patients treated at an outpatient clinic for substance dependence. Content analysis was used to analyse the interviews. The analysis resulted in seven categories of positive experiences and seven categories of negative experiences. The positive experiences were: Relaxation and well-being, Peacefulness and harmony, New behaviours, Positive physical impact, Importance of context, Anxiety reduction and Reduced drug and alcohol consumption. The negative experiences were: Nothing negative, Disturbing context, Short-term effect, Depending on someone else, Time-consuming, Physical distractions and Remaining cravings. The conclusion of this study is that all respondents appreciated NADA treatment. This study supports further research on using NADA in addiction treatment to reduce suffering during protracted withdrawal and in other contexts.

Locked doors: a survey of patients, staff and visitors

ACCESSIBLE SUMMARY • Locking of psychiatric wards doors is more frequent, but the impact is unknown. • Staff patients and visitors returned a questionnaire about the issue. • Patients did not like the door being locked as much as staff, and being on a locked ward was associated with greater rejection of the practice. • Staff working on locked wards were more positive about it than those who did not. ABSTRACT Locking the door of adult acute psychiatric wards has become increasingly common in the UK. There has been little investigation of its efficacy or acceptability in comparison to other containment methods. We surveyed the beliefs and attitudes of patients, staff and visitors to the practice of door locking in acute psychiatry. Wards that previously participated in a previous study were contacted and sent a questionnaire. A total of 1227 responses were obtained, with the highest number coming from staff, and the smallest from visitors. Analysis identified five factors (adverse effects, staff benefits, patient safety benefits, patient comforts and cold milieu). Patients were more negative about door locking than the staff, and more likely to express such negative judgments if they were residing in a locked ward. For staff, being on a locked ward was associated with more positive judgments about the practice. There were significant age, gender and ethnicity effects for staff only. Each group saw the issue of locked doors from their own perspective. Patients registered more anger, irritation and depression as a consequence of locked doors than staff or visitors thought they experienced. These differences were accentuated by the actual experience of the ward being locked.

Door locking and exit security measures on acute psychiatric admission wards

Locking the exit doors of psychiatric wards is believed to reduce the risk of patients absconding. The aims of the study were to investigate both the prevalence of door locking and other exit security measures on UK admission wards, as well as whether door locking appears to be effective in keeping inpatients in. A cross-sectional survey on 136 acute psychiatric wards in the UK was conducted, in which a range of data on patients, staff, and conflict and containment events, including door locking and absconding, were collected from shift to shift during a period of 6 months. About one-third of the participating wards (30%) operated with their ward exit door permanently locked, whereas another third (34%) never locked the ward door. Univariate analyses suggested little association between exit security measures and absconding. A more robust multilevel statistical analysis, however, did indicate a reduction of about 30% of absconding rates when the ward door was locked the entire shift. Although locking the ward door does seem to reduce absconding to a certain extent, it far from completely prevents it. As it may be unrealistic to strive for a 100% absconding-proof ward, alternative measures for door locking to prevent absconding are discussed.

Ethics rounds An appreciated form of ethics support

Background: Ethics rounds are one way to support healthcare personnel in handling ethically difficult situations. A previous study in the present project showed that ethics rounds did not result in significant changes in perceptions of how ethical issues were handled, that is, in the ethical climate. However, there was anecdotal evidence that the ethics rounds were viewed as a positive experience and that they stimulated ethical reflection. Aim: The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how the ethics rounds were experienced and why the intervention in the form of ethics rounds did not succeed in improving the ethical climate for the staff. Research design: An exploratory and descriptive design with a qualitative approach was adopted, using individual interviews. Participants and research context: A total of 11 healthcare personnel, working in two different psychiatry outpatient clinics and with experience of participating in ethics rounds, were interviewed. Ethical considerations: The study was based on informed consent and was approved by one of the Swedish Regional Ethical Review Boards. Findings: The participants were generally positive about the ethics rounds. They had experienced changes by participating in the ethics rounds in the form of being able to see things from different perspectives as well as by gaining insight into ethical issues. However, these changes had not affected daily work. Discussion: A crucial question is whether or not increased reflection ability among the participants is a good enough outcome of ethics rounds and whether this result could have been measured in patient-related outcomes. Ethics rounds might foster cooperation among the staff and this, in turn, could influence patient care. Conclusion: By listening to others during ethics rounds, a person can learn to see things from a new angle. Participation in ethics rounds can also lead to better insight concerning ethical issues.

Auricular Acupuncture and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia: A Randomised Controlled Study

Objective. The most effective nonpharmacological treatment for insomnia disorder is cognitive behavioural therapy-insomnia (CBT-i). However CBT-i may not suit everyone. Auricular acupuncture (AA) is a complementary treatment. Studies show that it may alleviate insomnia symptoms. The aim of this randomised controlled study was to compare treatment effects of AA with CBT-i and evaluate symptoms of insomnia severity, anxiety, and depression. Method. Fifty-nine participants, mean age 60.5 years (SD 9.4), with insomnia disorder were randomised to group treatment with AA or CBT-i. Self-report questionnaires, the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep scale (DBAS-16), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HAD), were collected at baseline, after treatment, and at 6-month follow-up. A series of linear mixed models were performed to examine treatment effect over time between and within the groups. Results. Significant between-group improvements were seen in favour of CBT-i in ISI after treatment and at the 6-month follow-up and in DBAS-16 after treatment. Both groups showed significant within-group postintervention improvements in ISI, and these changes were maintained six months later. The CBT-i group also showed a significant reduction in DBAS-16 after treatment and six months later. Conclusions. Compared to CBT-i, AA, as offered in this study, cannot be considered an effective stand-alone treatment for insomnia disorder. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01765959.

Young patients’ views about provided psychiatric care

Abstract Background: Psychiatric illness is common among young adults, but there are only a few studies examining their views about the care they receive. There is a paradigm shift towards person-centred care and, therefore, a need for patients’ perspectives in the development of clinical guidelines. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the views about provided psychiatric care in a group of young adult psychiatric patients. Method: This study was part of a larger study. Patients between the ages of 19–29 years old (n = 127) diagnosed with bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were interviewed. Participants answered open-ended questions concerning their views about provided psychiatric care in six different areas. Result: The results were categorized into six themes: (1) Wish for better diagnostic assessments, (2) Dissatisfaction with treatment, (3) Inadequate information, (4) Lack of professional attitude, (5) Feeling abandoned, and (6) Satisfaction with care. Conclusion: Young psychiatric patients expressed a need for improvement of services that, if implemented, could make psychiatric care more person-centred.

Ethics rounds do not improve the handling of ethical issues by psychiatric staff

Abstract Background. One way to support healthcare staff in handling ethically difficult situations is through ethics rounds that consist of discussions based on clinical cases and are moderated by an ethicist. Previous research indicates that the handling of ethically difficult situations in the workplace might have changed after ethics rounds. This, in turn, would mean that the “ethical climate”, i.e. perceptions of how ethical issues are handled, would have changed. Aim. To investigate whether ethics rounds could improve the ethical climate perceived by staff working in psychiatry outpatient clinics. Methods. In this quasi-experimental study, six inter-professional ethics rounds led by a philosopher/ethicist were conducted at two psychiatry outpatient clinics. Changes in ethical climate were measured at these clinics as well as at two control clinics at baseline and after the intervention period using the instrument Hospital Ethical Climate Survey. Results. Within-groups comparisons of median sum scores of ethical climate showed that no statistically significant differences were found in the intervention group before or after the intervention period. The median sum scores for ethical climate were significantly higher, both at baseline and after the intervention period (P ≤ 0.001; P = 0.046), in the intervention group. Conclusions. Ethics rounds in psychiatric outpatient clinics did not result in significant changes in ethical climate. Outcomes of ethics rounds might, to a higher degree, be directed towards patient-related outcomes rather than towards the staffs working environment, as the questions brought up for discussion during the ethics rounds concerned patient-related issues.

Sleep patterns in a randomized controlled trial of auricular acupuncture and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia

The aim of the study was to objectively examine how sleep patterns were affected in a short- and long-term perspective after auricular acupuncture (AA) and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-i). Sixty participants with insomnia disorders (men/women 9/51; mean age of 60.5 years, (SD 9.4)), were randomized to group treatment with AA or CBT-i. Actigraphy recordings were made at baseline, post-treatment and 6-month follow-up. The CBT-i group reduced their time in bed, their actual sleeping time, their sleep latency and their actual time awake. The AA group slept longer, increased their time in bed and decreased their sleep latency post-treatment. The between-groups results differed in wake-up time, rising, time in bed, actual sleep time and actual wake time. The differences were not maintained six months later. In accordance with previous findings the results support the notion that the objective sleep time does not necessarily affect the subjective perception of insomnia.