title: Seen as core: a Delphi consensus study of essential elements of mental health nursing care in Ireland.
abstract: Continued ambiguity about the scope of mental health nursing is harmful to the discipline's identity and to patients' interests. Using a Delphi survey design, consensus was achieved on a set of 70 items representing core elements of mental health nursing among a sample of 150 mental health nurses working in Ireland. Items achieving consensus in Round 3 of the survey were composed of 28 clinical phenomena (framed as client problems), 18 direct and 12 indirect nursing interventions, and 12 nursing-sensitive outcomes of care. Mental health nurses accepted responsibility across a broad range of outcomes apart from those linked to physical care, the one domain of care rejected by participants. The findings portray mental health nursing as a psychosocial enterprise, encompassing both phenomenological and diagnosis-related elements.
authors.affiliation: National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland. padraig.macneela@nuigalway.ie
authors.forename: Pádraig
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: MacNeela
authors.forename: Roisin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Margaret P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Treacy
authors.forename: Abbey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hyde
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003697:Delphi Technique; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000451:nursing / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D024802:Nurse's Role; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult