Untold Stories of Nurses Caring Clients with Mental Health Problems

Marc Andreo C. Malala

Abstract: Nurse's pivotal role in rendering holistic mental health care remains to be underdeveloped and has not been given adequate importance. Hence, it impacts their caring capacities. This study aimed to describe the lived experiences of nurses caring clients with mental health problems through a qualitative, descriptive-phenomenological study also known as transcendental phenomenology. The purposive and snowball sampling were used in the selection of the ten (10) registered nurses within the areas of South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani Province, and General Santos City, Philippines. Then, a semi-structured interview guide was used to collect the data. The Colaizzi's method of Phenomenological Analysis was done to explicate the collected qualitative data from the participants' responses. The study revealed that nurses' lived experiences revolved around the embedded art of complex care; the cornerstone of crucial roles; challenging experiences in the realm of caring; ways of coping with the challenges; barrier towards the provision of mental health care; family engagement as indispensable element of care; and the spectrum of myriad of emotions. The implication of this study may serve as basis in creating interventions that would address problems among mental health nurses, and provides insight into the quality of mental health care delivery toward clients with mental health problems.

Keywords: Nursing Care, Mental Health Problems, Nurses? Lived Experiences, Descriptive-Phenomenology