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The perceived challenges of working with patients who use new psychoactive substances: a qualitative study in a medium secure unit

The perceived challenges of working with patients who use new psychoactive substances: a... New psychoactive substances (NPS) are increasingly being used in secure mental health settings. Within these settings, NPS use presents a range of challenges and staff currently lack adequate training to manage these challenges. The purpose of this paper is to explore nursing staffs’ perception of the challenges of working with patients who use NPS and to explore nursing staffs’ perception of their training needs in relation to NPS.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional qualitative design was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight nursing staff from a medium secure unit (MSU).FindingsA thematic analysis identified three overarching themes: “There Will Always Be Something”, “We Are Doing Our Best” and “If We Know More, We Can Do More”. The findings describe how nursing staff manage NPS use at present, and their perceptions of how training could improve their management of NPS use in the future.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that MSUs require a local policy for managing NPS use. The research implies that staff training programmes should recognise the existing methods staff use to manage NPS use. The findings also suggest that NPS interventions should target the whole peer group and not just the individual using NPS.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the limited literature on NPS. The findings demonstrate the importance of developing evidence-based mechanisms for managing NPS use. Changes to practice are suggested, with the view of developing ways in which staff currently manage NPS use by complementing this with specific training on NPS. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Forensic Practice Emerald Publishing

The perceived challenges of working with patients who use new psychoactive substances: a qualitative study in a medium secure unit

Journal of Forensic Practice , Volume 22 (1): 11 – Jan 27, 2020

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References (41)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
2050-8794
DOI
10.1108/jfp-09-2019-0036
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

New psychoactive substances (NPS) are increasingly being used in secure mental health settings. Within these settings, NPS use presents a range of challenges and staff currently lack adequate training to manage these challenges. The purpose of this paper is to explore nursing staffs’ perception of the challenges of working with patients who use NPS and to explore nursing staffs’ perception of their training needs in relation to NPS.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional qualitative design was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight nursing staff from a medium secure unit (MSU).FindingsA thematic analysis identified three overarching themes: “There Will Always Be Something”, “We Are Doing Our Best” and “If We Know More, We Can Do More”. The findings describe how nursing staff manage NPS use at present, and their perceptions of how training could improve their management of NPS use in the future.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that MSUs require a local policy for managing NPS use. The research implies that staff training programmes should recognise the existing methods staff use to manage NPS use. The findings also suggest that NPS interventions should target the whole peer group and not just the individual using NPS.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the limited literature on NPS. The findings demonstrate the importance of developing evidence-based mechanisms for managing NPS use. Changes to practice are suggested, with the view of developing ways in which staff currently manage NPS use by complementing this with specific training on NPS.

Journal

Journal of Forensic PracticeEmerald Publishing

Published: Jan 27, 2020

Keywords: Qualitative; Nursing staff; Staff training; Illicit substances; Medium secure unit; New psychoactive substances

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