title: From judgment to understanding: mental health nurses' perceptions of changed professional behaviors following positively changed attitudes toward self-harm.
abstract: Nurses experience feelings of frustration, anger and fear when caring for patients who self-harm. Training programmes were developed that aimed to positively influence nurses' knowledge, attitudes and skills. The aim of this study was to investigate professional behavior of mental health nurses with positively changed attitudes after following a training program. Using grounded theory, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 mental health nurses. Participants reported using less restrictive interventions, being more patient oriented, and choosing a more empathic and exploratory approach after the training. A work environment conductive to making autonomous professional decisions with supportive colleagues enabled these changes.
authors.affiliation: The Jutters Foundation, The Hague, The Netherlands. Electronic address: karmanp@dejutters.com.
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Karman
authors.affiliation: Parnassia Group, Palier The Hague and Inholland University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Nienke
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kool
authors.affiliation: Division Woman and Baby and Faculty Nursing Science, Program in Clinical Health Sciences, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gamel
authors.affiliation: Inholland University of Applied Sciences, VU University Medical Centre, Department of Psychiatry, Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Berno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: van Meijel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004493:Education; D004645:Empathy; D066296:Grounded Theory; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008875:Middle Aged; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing; D036301:Qualitative Research; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000451:nursing*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires