Main Article Content

Support interventions for nurses working in acute psychiatric units: A systematic review


Ntombiyakhe Bekelepi
Penelope Martin

Abstract

Diverse support interventions have been implemented to provide support for nurses working in acute psychiatric settings. These interventions  aimed at modifying the psychological and social factors, as they either prevent stress responses or reduce its effects to improve the psychological  well-being of staff. This study aimed to examine effective stress reduction interventions for nurses and to identify key elements of these successful  interventions. Studies included in this review were conducted in acute psychiatric settings. A comprehensive search of electronic databases was  conducted for support intervention studies between 2010 and 2021. The search yielded 315 studies that were reduced to seven studies after being  reviewed by two independent reviewers. The studies were coded, and key elements were identified. Seven studies that were included consisted of a  randomised controlled trial, quasi-experimental design and single-group design. Interventions included mindfulness-based stress reduction,  burnout prevention programmes, communication skills, educational programme, group intervention, resilience training programme and stress  management. Four key elements emerged from these interventions, namely, educational support, interpersonal skills, psychological support and  adaptive coping. The findings highlighted the diverse interventions in supporting psychiatric nurses to cope with stress. However, there is a dearth  of studies in acute psychiatric settings that were mostly done in emergency settings. Knowledge gained from this review may assist with practice  improvement as managers can implement the identified interventions.


Contribution: This is the first systematic review focusing on supportive interventions for nurses in acute psychiatric settings. The knowledge gained  from this review will add to the existing research knowledge base in the field. 


Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 2071-9736
print ISSN: 1025-9848