Maude Charron
Universite de Montreal, Canada
Title: The role of primary health nurses in mental health care: A multiple case study
Biography
Biography: Maude Charron
Abstract
Problematic: Common mental health disorder rates are increasing worldwide. Primary health care should be able to support patients with depression or anxiety problems. During their training, nurses develop the skills to work with those patients. Unfortunately, role of nurses about mental health in primary health care usually doesn’t represent their full scope of practice. Objective: to describe and to analyse the role of nurses working in inter professional primary healthcare teams with patients who are suffering from common mental health disorders. Methodology: A multiple case study was performed in two primary health care organizations in Quebec, Canada. Interviews with nurses and health professionals were conducted. First, the data are currently analysed independently for each organization. Secondly, transverse analysis will be performed to compare the two participating organizations. Results: The final results of this research will be presented. The results will include the role of nurses working with patients suffering from common mental disorders as described in the interviewees. Organizational and individual factors influencing this role will also be discussed. Conclusion: The role of primary health care nurses is constantly changing and expanding but it often differs from one organization to another. Clarifying their role in primary mental health care should facilitate the deployment of their full scope of practice and should have a beneficial impact on the services to patients suffering from depression or anxiety disorders.