Running head: MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT

Complex Nursing Care: Mental Health Assessment

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Complex Nursing Care: Mental Health Assessment

MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT

The benefits and values of consumer involvement in mental health delivery are
continuously gaining medical consideration with time. Consumer participation is a major
component of consumer-centered care that offers customized care to people in consideration of
their beliefs, values, preferences, and needs. This component increases consumer involvement in
numerous aspects of healthcare provision. Consumer participation enables health service
providers to offer medical assistance that is more sensitive to the desire and needs of the client.
According to Polit & Beck (2013), the component also aids the health care providers in
integrating consumer centered care in their undertakings. However, inadequate data and
resources inhibit the effective participation of the consumer. In this regard, educating consumers
is a key undertaking in establishing a firm partnership between the client and the healthcare
providers. McMillan et al. (2013) ascertain that consumer education helps individual to gain
relevant information and knowledge related to their health. Nurses, who are the greatest group of
professionals in mental health service, have the mandate to educate consumers on varied issues
related to mental health. This empowers consumers groups and their families in various health
care environs.
In this paper, the significance of psycho-education for adults with depression managed in
primary care is reviewed and discussed. Manicavasagar, Perich, & Parker (2012) argue that
depression is one of the mental illnesses that is most prevalent and recurrent in most countries
globally. According to Polit & Beck (2013), over 25-percent of adults suffer from this condition
either directly or indirectly at any point in their life. The essay begins by discussing the benefits
of education for this major consumer group and then considers the potential barrier to the
provision of education. The paper then focuses on the skills needed by nurses to effectively

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educate consumers. Finally, the relevance of the findings is discussed with respect to my own
nursing practice development.
Benefits of Consumer Education
According to McMillan et al. (2013), pharmacological treatment cannot suffice on its
own in responding to clients desires and needs related to mental well-being. Thus, consumer
education is an important integral in the treatment of depression. Consumer education influences
the recovery of depressed individuals in various ways. First, this education improves helpseeking willingness and minimizes the symptoms related to depression (Manicavasagar, Perich,
& Parker, 2012). This substantially prevents recurrence and relapse of the mental condition.
McMillan et al. (2013) ascertain that biological education scales down psychological blame
which is associated with depressed people by aiding them in accepting the condition as a disease
entity. This helps consumers in recovering from emotional illness and thus, enhancing their aidseeking practices. Polit & Beck (2013) argue that consumer education contributes significantly in
promoting a sense of self-direction and consumer empowerment which leads to the
implementation of recovery-focused services that reveal consumer desires and needs in their
process of recovery.
Second, consumer education focuses on enhancing satisfaction and treatment adherence
of adults with depression. As discussed by McMillan et al. (2013), obtaining relevant knowledge
and information helps the consumers to participate in a joint decision-making process with the
healthcare providers regarding treatment options and therefore, promoting satisfaction. The
scholar adds that educating consumers equips them with relevant skills that help them is
selecting health care that is consistent with their health conditions. In this perspective, a research
undertaken by Tones, Robinson, & Tilford, (2013) examined the pros of consumer participation

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in the process of decision making for basic care of depression. The research focused on a sample
size of four hundred adults with depressive conditions in a primary care. Shared decision-making
strategy was implemented within the study sample in order to establish its effectiveness. The
study results indicate that in a primary care environment, the level of client satisfaction and
degree of adherence to medical treatment can be improved by consumer participation strategy.
The findings of the study are also consistent with results from the study of McCormack, Manley,
& Titchen (2013) that satisfaction level in a primary care setting is directly related to shared
decision making for consumers with depression.
Barriers to Provision of Education
Several studies have been undertaken to ascertain the barriers and challenges to effective
education in the case of individuals with depression. Based on the scholarly works, the primary
barriers to consumer education falls into three groups: psychosocial, practical, and financial
obstacles. Dwight-Johnson et al. (2010) argue that practical and financial barriers are prevalent
in environs where the depressed individuals are economically and socially marginalized. The
scholars further allude that low-income earners encounter challenges when managing their
practical and economical needs. These obstacles significantly reduce their urge to seek
pharmacological treatment or consumer education. This implicates that, when the targeted
consumers are financially disadvantaged, their chances of participating in education sessions and
seeking aid regarding their clinical conditions is rare (Gulliver, Griffiths, & Christensen, 2010).
According to Shippee et al., (2012), poor English language skills and low health literacy
are the major psychosocial obstacles responsible for poor comprehension of information about
depression among the consumers. Numerous literature sources argue that consumer education
faces the challenge of providing relevant informational materials, since, a significant number of

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consumers affirmed in an interview that the information given by health educators are too
complex to be understood. Dwight-Johnson et al. (2010) ascertain that psychosocial factors
contribute negatively in providing relevant psychoeducation to immigrants suffering from
depressions since they are less proficient with the language that the educators use. The level of
consumer impairment affects health literacy substantially. That is, when the level of depression
deteriorate, the chances of consumers effectively receipting information is minimal. This is
caused the low level of energy, reduced concentration, limited problem-solving ability and
increased fatigue which is all associated with severe depression (Gulliver, Griffiths, &
Christensen, 2010).
Lack of cultural sensitivity, stigma, and stereotypes created by health educators are the
major impediments to effective consumer education (Shippee et al., 2012). Health professionals
are prone of undervaluing the level of consumer understanding by assuming that the depressed
individuals cannot process information due to their clinical conditions. Consequently, they
provide consumers with limited information with minimal benefits. According to DwightJohnson et al. (2010), lack of cultural proficiency makes educators to overlook the context of
depression and this makes it difficult for them to retain or engage depressed individuals in the
process of learning.
Nursing Skills Required in Consumer Education
Tones, Robinson, & Tilford (2013) argue that advice and information related to mental
illness should be offered after understanding the consumers stressful experiences and developing
a firm collaborative relationship with them. In this regard, the success of delivering consumer
education is related to the therapeutic relationship established between the mental health
consumer and the nurses.

MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT

Good communication skills are important in developing and maintaining therapeutic

relationships with the consumers. McCormack, Manley, & Titchen (2013) ascertain that the
therapeutic communication skills needed by nurses providing mental health include: engaging
with clients, expressing empathy, reflective listening, avoiding medical jargon and using
desirable body language. The scholars argue that these skills aids nurses in realizing the clients
perception on psychoeducation since the relationship between the nurses and the clients help the
professions in comprehending the unique needs and situations of the consumers.
Cultural proficiency is a key skill required by nurses when providing education to
consumers from varied cultural and ethnic backgrounds. According to a study by Polit & Beck
(2013), mental health clients who are privileged to receive psychoeducation that is cultural
sensitive depicts better health outcomes such as, enhanced empowerment, improved coping
skills, and decreased self-stigma. The study findings also indicate that culturally related nursing
perspective helps clients from varied regions to participate actively in consumer education as
well delivering information in an effective and accurate manner.
Practice Implications
The findings of the discussion clearly indicate that registered nurses are mandated to
perform several roles in mental health practice. The outcomes of consumer education in mental
related issues indicate that as a nurse, I should provide relevant and appropriate data to
consumers in order to promote recovery and empower them. Further, utilizing proper nursing
communication skills and actualizing therapeutic relationship have been depicted as vital
components in consumer-centered education. Therefore, when educating consumers, I should
always apply relevant communication skills and develop therapeutic associations. Additionally,

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reflecting my own practice and maintaining self-awareness will help me in creating a

professional profile when offering health care services.
The finding from the discussion on obstacles to consumer education clearly
indicates the responsibilities nurses should undertake in order to combat barriers to the provision
of consumer education. Working together with professionals from other disciplines is important
in minimizing financial and practical barriers of consumers and offering all-inclusive care. This
is attributed to the fact that psychosocial consumer needs must be meet in order to effectively
deliver education. Thus, when I perceive issues that hinder clients from receiving education in
my undertaking, as an advocator, I should respond to the issues with respect to psychosocial
parameters in mental health care and the requirements of the holistic model in delivering care.
Further, in order to eradicate barriers to poor health literacy to client education, it is vital that I
use therapeutic communication skills and ensure that relevant information is passed across to an
individual client. For instance, it will be effective for me to use plain English when delivering
information to consumers with poor literacy rather than applying medical terms.
Summary of Major Findings and Conclusion
Literature from scholarly works stresses the importance of consumer education when
dealing with depressed clients in primary care setting. In this case, the selected materials indicate
that consumer education plays a significant role in improving consumer empowerment and the
ability of individuals to self-direct their mental conditions. As a result, this minimizes the risks of
reoccurrence and relapse of depression and improves the clinical course of the consumers.
However, the findings from the discussion also indicate that psychosocial barriers,
unprofessional attitude, financial, and practical obstacles limits effective consumer education. In
order to involve clients effectively in the consumer education and battle the obstacles, nurses

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should undertake their mandates in a consumer-care centered approach. Nurses play important
roles in optimizing the effectiveness of consumer education by applying relevant communication
skills and cultural proficiency that is consistent with the therapeutic relationship.

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References

Dwight-Johnson, M., Lagomasino, I. T., Hay, J., Zhang, L., Tang, L., Green, J. M., & Duan, N.
(2010). Effectiveness of collaborative care in addressing depression treatment preferences
among low-income Latinos. Psychiatric Services.
Gulliver, A., Griffiths, K. M., & Christensen, H. (2010). Perceived barriers and facilitators to
mental health help-seeking in young people: a systematic review. BMC psychiatry, 10(1),
113.
Manicavasagar, V., Perich, T., & Parker, G. (2012). Cognitive predictors of change in cognitive
behaviour therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression. Behavioural
and cognitive psychotherapy, 40(2), 227.
McCormack, B., Manley, K., & Titchen, A. (Eds.). (2013). Practice development in nursing and
healthcare. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
McMillan, S. S., Kendall, E., Sav, A., King, M. A., Whitty, J. A., Kelly, F., & Wheeler, A. J.
(2013). Patient-centered approaches to health care: a systematic review of randomized
controlled trials. Medical Care Research and Review, 1077558713496318.
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2013). Essentials of nursing research: Appraising evidence for
nursing practice. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Shippee, N. D., Call, K. T., Weber, W., & Beebe, T. J. (2012). Depression, access barriers, and
their combined associations with unmet health needs among publicly insured individuals
in Minnesota. Society and Mental Health, 2(2), 85-98.

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Tones, K., Robinson, Y. K., & Tilford, S. (2013). Health education: effectiveness and efficiency.
New York: Springer.