Self-Perceived Competence of Ambulance Nurses in the Care of Patients with Mental Illness: A Questionnaire Survey.
Sandra ÖnnheimAnders JohanssonBodil IvarssonCaroline HagströmPublished in: Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) (2022)
Ambulance nurses in prehospital emergency care must assess, treat, and triage patients with mental health issues. This study aimed to investigate the self-perceived competence of ambulance nurses in prehospital emergency care of patients with mental illness. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was done, a question-index value (Q-IV; range: 0-1.0) was defined as a summary of the proportion of positive responses (%). Correlations of self-perceived competence with education and professional experience were also examined. Overall self-perceived competence was good (mean Q-IV, 0.80). For six of the nine questions, women rated their abilities slightly lower than men. Women rated themselves as fairly good in providing "information about types of effective help available" (Q-IV, 0.55) and in "suggesting tactics for helping a person with mental illness feel better" (Q-IV, 0.56). Men rated their competence as fairly good in "directing patients to appropriate sources of help" (Q-IV, 0.58). Self-perceived competence did not correlate with education level or professional experience. In conclusion, these results indicate that in encounters with patients who have mental illness, ambulance nurses perceive their overall competencies as good, with some sex-based differences in self-perception for specific knowledge areas. Education level and professional experience did not correlate with self-perceived competence.
Keyphrases
- mental illness
- mental health
- healthcare
- quality improvement
- emergency medical
- end stage renal disease
- emergency department
- newly diagnosed
- social support
- ejection fraction
- palliative care
- cross sectional
- cardiac arrest
- public health
- physical activity
- polycystic ovary syndrome
- adipose tissue
- peritoneal dialysis
- metabolic syndrome
- patient reported outcomes
- middle aged
- pain management
- skeletal muscle
- pregnant women
- chronic pain