title: Sensory rooms in psychiatric inpatient care: Staff experiences.
abstract: There is an increased interest in exploring the use of sensory rooms in psychiatric inpatient care. Sensory rooms can provide stimulation via sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste in a demand-free environment that is controlled by the patient. The rooms may reduce patients' distress and agitation, as well as rates of seclusion and restraint. Successful implementation of sensory rooms is influenced by the attitudes and approach of staff. This paper presents a study of the experiences of 126 staff members who worked with sensory rooms in a Swedish inpatient psychiatry setting. A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was used. Data were collected by a web based self-report 12-item questionnaire that included both open- and closed-ended questions. Our findings strengthen the results of previous research in this area in many ways. Content analyses revealed three main categories: hopes and concerns, focusing on patients' self-care, and the room as a sanctuary. Although staff initially described both negative and positive expectations of sensory rooms, after working with the rooms, there was a strong emphasis on more positive experiences, such as letting go of control and observing an increase in patients' self-confidence, emotional self-care and well-being. Our findings support the important principals of person-centred nursing and recovery-oriented mental health and the ability of staff to implement these principles by working with sensory rooms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. anna.bjorkdahl@sll.se.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Björkdahl
authors.affiliation: The Swedish Red Cross University College, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Kent-Inge
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Perseius
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Nursing, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mats
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Samuelsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Nursing, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mathilde Hedlund
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lindberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: comfort room; emotional stress; psychiatric nursing; recovery; sensory room