title: Documentary analysis of risk-assessment and safety-planning policies and tools in a mental health context.
abstract: Despite the articulated need for policies and processes to guide risk assessment and safety planning, limited guidance exists on the processes or procedures to be used to develop such policies, and there is no body of research that examines the quality or content of the risk-management policies developed. The aim of the present study was to analyse the policies of risk and safety management used to guide mental health nursing practice in Ireland. A documentary analysis was performed on 123 documents received from 22 of the 23 directors of nursing contacted. Findings from the analysis revealed a wide variation in how risk, risk assessment, and risk management were defined. Emphasis within the risk documentation submitted was on risk related to self and others, with minimal attention paid to other types of risks. In addition, there was limited evidence of recovery-focused approaches to positive risk taking that involved service users and their families within the risk-related documentation. Many of the risk-assessment tools had not been validated, and lacked consistency or guidance in relation to how they were to be used or applied. The tick-box approach and absence of space for commentary within documentation have the potential to impact severely on the quality of information collected and documented, and subsequent clinical decision-making. Managers, and those tasked with ensuring safety and quality, need to ensure that policies and processes are, where possible, informed by best evidence and are in line with national mental health policy on recovery.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Higgins
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Doyle
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morrissey
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Carmel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Downes
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Ailish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Sive
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bailey
mesh_terms: D004282:Documentation; D006801:Humans; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D016134:Organizational Policy; D061214:Patient Safety / Q000592:standards*; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control; D000092864:Suicide Prevention
keywords: documentary analysis; mental health nursing practice; risk management policies