Exploring the attitudes of mental health nurses and mental health nursing students toward the physical health of service users- a mixed methods study

Rationale: People with mental ill health face higher mortality rates than the general population with reported reductions in life expectancy of up to twenty years, often dying from common medical conditions that do not impact on mortality rates for the general population. Mental health nurses and mental health nursing students have a role in supporting the physical health of people with mental illness. Aim: The aim of this study is to explore what mental health nurses and mental health nursing students’ attitudes are toward managing physical health with a view to identifying factors that could help improve physical health monitoring and surveillance and help to improve physical well-being for service users. Methodology: A mixed methods convergent design was used. Quantitative data were collected via the Physical Health Attitude Scale, (PHASe) followed by semi-structured interviews with both qualified and student mental health nurses to explore their attitudes towards the management of physical health. There were 110 responses to the PHASe, in the quantitative arm of the study, and 9 registered and 4 student nurses were interviewed for the qualitative arm. Findings: The findings indicate that, although mental health nurses encounter a range of challenges in physical health management, they view it as a key component of their clinical role. Issues impact on mental health nurses when managing physical health included poor integration of health services, confidence of medical colleagues, and access to resources in terms of equipment to undertake monitoring and time to have meaningful conversations about physical health. Conclusion: Mental health nurses are committed to delivering holistic care. Physical health management requires input from clinicians and managers to ensure that time and equipment is available to undertake the work, and a more collaborative approach between mental health, primary care and acute care services is needed to ensure that patients are treated holistically in all health care settings.