Health educators in Australia are challenged by the need to provide clinically relevant education to large numbers of students across a wide range of specialties. This situation is compounded by changed student demographics, new... more
Health educators in Australia are challenged by the need to provide clinically relevant education to large numbers of students across a wide range of specialties. This situation is compounded by changed student demographics, new technologies in both the workplace and university, and decreased access to clinical placement opportunities for students. This article describes an innovative response addressing nurse education priorities and implemented in the School of Nursing at Flinders University South Australia, involving the development of CaseWorld, a prototype virtual case-based learning environment. CaseWorld implementation was unique because large-scale innovation occurred as part of routine curriculum development. This was challenging as there was limited opportunity for prototype evaluation before student use, thus necessitating a flexible implementation process. The outcome was the development of scripted unfolding cases that provide students with low-fidelity simulation enhan...
A lack of empathic responsiveness toward others has been consistently identified as an important antecedent to aggressive behavior and violent crime, with many rehabilitation programs for violent offenders incorporating treatment modules... more
A lack of empathic responsiveness toward others has been consistently identified as an important antecedent to aggressive behavior and violent crime, with many rehabilitation programs for violent offenders incorporating treatment modules that are specifically designed to increase offender empathy. This study examined the extent to which cognitive (perspective taking) and affective (empathic concern, personal distress) empathy predicted anger in a clinical (male prisoners convicted of a violent offense) and a nonclinical (student) sample. Perspective taking emerged as the strongest predictor of self-reported anger in response to an interpersonal provocation, as well as being most consistently related to scores on measures of general trait anger and methods of anger control. While the relationship between perspective taking and anger was apparent for offenders as well as students, the results did not support the idea that an inability to perspective take is a particular characteristic of violent offenders.
An integrated approach to the mental healthcare of older people is advocated across health, aged care and social care sectors. It is not clear, however, how the management of integrated servicing should occur, although interorganisational... more
An integrated approach to the mental healthcare of older people is advocated across health, aged care and social care sectors. It is not clear, however, how the management of integrated servicing should occur, although interorganisational relations theory suggests a reflective network approach using evaluation feedback. This research will test a network management approach to help regional primary healthcare organisations improve mental health service integration. This mixed methods case study in rural South Australia will test facilitated reflection within a network of health and social care services to determine if this leads to improved integration. Engagement of services will occur through a governance group and a series of three 1-day service stakeholder workshops. Facilitated reflection and evaluation feedback will use information from a review of health sector and local operational policies, a network survey about current service links, gaps and enablers and interviews with o...
To test a management model of facilitated reflection on network feedback as a means to engage services in problem solving the delivery of integrated primary mental healthcare to older people. Participatory mixed methods case study... more
To test a management model of facilitated reflection on network feedback as a means to engage services in problem solving the delivery of integrated primary mental healthcare to older people. Participatory mixed methods case study evaluating the impact of a network management model using organisational network feedback (through social network analysis, key informant interviews and policy review). A model of facilitated network reflection using network theory and methods. A rural community in South Australia. 32 staff from 24 services and 12 senior service managers from mental health, primary care and social care services. Health and social care organisations identified that they operated in clustered self-managed networks within sectors, with no overarching purposive older people's mental healthcare network. The model of facilitated reflection revealed service goal and role conflicts. These discussions helped local services to identify as a network, and begin the problem-solving...
This paper reports mental health nurses' perspectives of absconding. The aims of the... more
This paper reports mental health nurses' perspectives of absconding. The aims of the study were to explore nurses' perceptions of risk assessment and management practices regarding absconding from acute inpatient psychiatric settings, and their affective responses when patients absconded. Nurses are directly involved in managing the risk of patients leaving hospital while acutely unwell, as well as dealing with the implications of an absconding event. However, despite their key role, few studies have explored nurses' perceptions of absconding. An interpretive inquiry was undertaken using a systematic thematic approach. Mental health nurses (n = 11) from three acute inpatient mental health units in Australia took part in semi-structured interviews, with a focus on the nurses' experiences of working with patients who had absconded. Data were analysed using systematic thematic coding procedures. Nurses' assessment of a patient's risk of absconding involved the use of clinical judgement, focusing on markers of absconding including the patient's history and clinical presentation. The acuity of the perceived risk determined the type of risk management strategy implemented, which could include support, observation and/or the use of containment procedures. Nurses responded with a myriad of affective reactions when patients absconded depending on their assessment of the patient's risk. Support and debriefing is required for mental health nurses following an absconding event. Additional research is vital to identify alternative absconding assessment and management strategies to ensure the best possible outcome for patients and nurses. Mental health nurses play a central role in risk assessment and management for absconding, with fear of repercussions a significant consequence for them. This research highlights the importance of both clinical judgment and standardised instruments in assessing absconding risk. Further research is needed to identify alternative evidence-based absconding management strategies to support nursing practice.
International surveys have suggested that around one-third of all adult women will, at some point in their lifetime, experience abuse perpetrated by an intimate male partner. Domestic violence is considered to be one of the major risk... more
International surveys have suggested that around one-third of all adult women will, at some point in their lifetime, experience abuse perpetrated by an intimate male partner. Domestic violence is considered to be one of the major risk factors affecting women's health in Australia and there is a need for the community to respond in ways that reduce the likelihood of further violence occurring. One way of doing this is to deliver programs that aim to reduce the risk of known perpetrators committing further offences. This paper describes the ...
Perspective taking, the main cognitive component of empathy, has a particularly important and complex role to play in the clinician-client relationship, particularly in mental health nursing. However, despite extensive investigation into... more
Perspective taking, the main cognitive component of empathy, has a particularly important and complex role to play in the clinician-client relationship, particularly in mental health nursing. However, despite extensive investigation into the outcomes of this construct (eg ...
In this brief report we describe the development of a measure of anger that may be used by nurses and other professionals to assess anger and changes in anger with male offenders. The Short Anger Measure, a 12-item self-report measure of... more
In this brief report we describe the development of a measure of anger that may be used by nurses and other professionals to assess anger and changes in anger with male offenders. The Short Anger Measure, a 12-item self-report measure of angry feelings and aggressive impulses, was administered to 73 male offenders. The measure showed sound psychometric properties (internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability) and concurrent validity with an established measure of anger. The potential use of the measure by nurses working in forensic settings is discussed.
