Family expectations of inpatient mental health services for adults with suicidal ideation: a qualitative study

Involvement of family members of adults with suicidal ideation is a key area of improvement in inpatient mental health services. To support family involvement in this context, it is crucial to understand what care and treatment family members expect for their relative. This qualitative study based o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of mental health nursing 2021-10, Vol.30 (5), p.1136-1148
Main Authors: Vandewalle, Joeri, Debyser, Bart, Deproost, Eddy, Verhaeghe, Sofie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult Children
Adults
Continuity of care
Counting
Empowerment
Expectations
Families & family life
Family
Grounded theory
Healing
Health services
Humans
Inpatient care
Inpatients
Marginality
Medical personnel
Mental Disorders - therapy
Mental health
Mental health care
Mental health professionals
Mental Health Services
Nurses
Parent participation
Participation
Partnerships
Patient admissions
professional‐family relations
Psychiatric nurses
Qualitative research
Relatives
Residential institutions
Siblings
Suicidal Ideation
Suicide
Uncertainty
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Summary:Involvement of family members of adults with suicidal ideation is a key area of improvement in inpatient mental health services. To support family involvement in this context, it is crucial to understand what care and treatment family members expect for their relative. This qualitative study based on grounded theory involved interviews with 14 family members, including partners, parents, adult children and siblings. The family members’ expectations of care and treatment in inpatient mental health services were captured by the core element ‘Struggling to remain hopeful while looking through the lens of uncertainty’. This core element interacted with four sub‐elements: assuming safety as a priority, looking for a healing approach and environment, counting on continuity of care and wanting to be involved and supported. The family members fluctuated between hope and uncertainty depending on whether their expectations were met or unmet. Unmet expectations were common and underpinned by a sense of being marginalized during the admission of their relative with suicidal ideation. Mental health professionals, including nurses, can be more empathetic towards the family members and attuned to their expectations. This can underpin partnerships that help families to deal with their feelings of uncertainty and disempowerment. Such partnerships can flourish in recovery‐oriented mental health services that allow meaningful family involvement.
ISSN:1445-8330
1447-0349
DOI:10.1111/inm.12864