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Psychiatric nurses’ attitudes towards children visiting their parents in psychiatric inpatient units

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 September 2013

D. Houlihan ,
D. Sharek  and
A. Higgins
D. Houlihan
Affiliation:
Clinical Nurse Specialist in Community Services, HSE Dublin and School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
D. Sharek
Affiliation:
RGN School of School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
A. Higgins*
Affiliation:
RGN School of School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
*
*Address for correspondence: A. Higgins, RGN School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, 24 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. (Email ahiggins@tcd.ie)
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Abstract

Background

The provision of care for children of parents with a mental health problem is an area that is frequently neglected by health-care practitioners.

Objectives

The aim of the overall study was to explore psychiatric nurses’ knowledge of, attitudes and practice towards the support needs of children whose parent has a mental health problem. This paper specifically addresses the views of psychiatric nurses towards children visiting their parent in a mental health inpatient facility.

Method

This study employed a self-completion survey design with a sample of 114 registered psychiatric nurses from one integrated mental health service in Ireland.

Results

The majority of participants were in favour of children visiting their parent when in hospital, but were of the view that the visiting areas should be away from the main ward location and designed to be child-friendly. Many expressed concerns about the standard of visiting facilities and worried about the potentially negative impact of a visit on the child's well-being. In relation to education on child-care issues, a significant majority of the participants reported not having received any education in the child-care issues identified and, as a likely consequence, rated their knowledge as insufficient.

Conclusions

This study highlights the need for further work in the areas of practitioner education, child-friendly visiting facilities, and the development of policy and practice guidelines around children whose parents experience a mental health problem.

Keywords

Attitudeschildreninpatient mental health facilityparents with mental health problemsvisiting
Type
Original Research
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , December 2013 , pp. 261 - 269
Copyright
Copyright © College of Psychiatrists of Ireland 2013 

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