Compassion in mental health
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Compassion in Healthcare: A study exploring the influences of discourse on the subjectification of nurses and patient narratives in the context of mental health
IRAS ID
281630
Contact name
Stephen Timmons
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 0 days
Research summary
Research Summary
The aim of the study is to explore how government policy on compassion can influence the professional identity of nurses working in mental health. Given that mental health practitioners have the legislative power to hold (or detain) a person, this may cause tension between the care of the person and control of the person. This study also aims to explore how professional roles, or potential tensions in those roles, might affect the way in which people experience compassion in this setting.
Summary of Results
Compassion was described by both mental health nurses and mental health patients as inherent to the individual traits of the healthcare professional. Nurses found compassion challenging as a result of the administrative burden and time pressures within the system, however, believed compassion was important and felt moral distress at not having the time to deliver compassion.
Patients expected to recive compassion from healthcare professionals and reported that when compassion was present health and recovery were felt to be made possible. However, many patient participants described incidences where the care they received was felt to be lacking in compassion. This was believed to be related to the constraints of the design of the healthcare system, which impeded their care experiences (including the receiving of compassion). The patient participants suggested that mental healthcare professionals needed to have more training on trauma to ensure that care was trauma-informed, which was identified as a compassionate approach to those with a mental health condition.
Given that the participants were all white and mostly female, it is not possible to say whether people of ethnic minorities or a predominantly male sample will identify compassion in the same way as the participants in this study. Therefore more research is required.
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/WM/0139
Date of REC Opinion
15 Jun 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion