Gender in an acute mental health setting (Version 5).
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A qualitative investigation of the impact of in-patient gender on nursing practice in an acute mental health setting; a patient and staff perspective.
IRAS ID
200995
Contact name
Richard Lingard
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
ABMU Health Board (R&D Department),
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
Research Summary
The objective of the study is to explore staff and patients' personal perspectives surrounding gender and identity in an in-patient setting. Participants will include 16 service users (8 male, 8 female) and 8 members of staff. They will be interviewed about their perspectives on how gender affects provision/receipt of care and treatment in the ward environment at Cefn Coed Hospital (Swansea). The main themes found in the interviews will be disseminated to raise awareness of patient and staff perspectives on mental health in-patient services and how these impact overall well-being and recovery.
Summary of Results
The aim of the study was to explore patient and staff views on how gender impacts experiences and care within an inpatient ward. This research will be disseminated among staff to raise awareness of how gender influences inpatient care with the hopes of improving wellbeing for both patients and staff.
The research was conducted by the Psychology Department of Swansea Bay University Health Board (SBUHB) and sponsored by the Research and Development Department of SBUHB. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with nine male and five female patients who were currently an inpatient on a mental health ward and eight staff including staff nurses and health care support workers who work on the same inpatient wards.
These interviews were then transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The themes that emerged from this are...
· “Building relationships”- Many participants, male patients in particular, said the range of personalities and more “realistic” mix of gender is why they enjoy mixed wards and mixed staffing. On the other hand single gender wards were said to facilitate building more supportive relationships and being more recovery focused.
· “Feeling safe and secure”- Many female patients felt safer on single gender wards and when interacting with female staff. Many staff and male patients also spoke about the impact of single gender wards of females. The physical environment of the wards also impacted how patients and staff viewed safety on the ward.
· “Managing violence and aggression”- This was an issue across mixed and single gender wards, but was often seen to be more prevalent on single gender wards. There were mixed views on how staff gender can impact managing violence and aggression.
· “Importance of staff training”- Many male patients felt that training was applicable to all patients regardless of gender, however both female patients and staff felt that it’s important to develop an understanding of trauma and how different conditions impact men and women.
· “The need to privacy”- This was highlighted as an important factor across both mixed and single gender wards. Things like wanting en-suite bathrooms was important in helping patients feel more dignified in their care.
To date there has been limited research into how gender impacts experiences on an inpatient ward. This research provides insight into how these different groups feel gender impacts their experiences and what they feel is important to them. The results help services tailor how they are run and the training provided to give the best possible care for patients.
REC name
Wales REC 6
REC reference
16/WA/0095
Date of REC Opinion
6 May 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion