Evidence-Based Practice in Forensic Mental Health Nursing: A Critical Review

Abstract

FMH nursing can be based on a wide range of sources of evidence. The types of evidence used in practice depend on individual service users' needs and views. In evaluating evidence, it is necessary to be aware of its complex, diverse nature. A distinction can be made between definitive, widely generalizable research findings and evidence with limited generalizability, requiring FMH nurses' judgments about whether it is applicable to their own area of practice. Recommendations for related education and research are made.

The Forensic Psychiatric Network of Observation and Documentation: At the Intersection of Review Board Hearings and Nursing Practice

“…The PHI produced in hospital settings can thereby be used in a quasi-unregulated manner, for purposes beyond the provision of care—namely, for public safety and risk management—without the consent of persons UST/NCR. Such a dynamic creates professional tension for nurses working in forensic psychiatry, who must practice in custodial environments (Byrt et al, 2018; Jacob & Holmes, 2011; Mason et al, 2008). In forensic psychiatric institutions, nurses are required to maintain closeness with their patients to foster the development of a therapeutic relationship (Jacob & Holmes, 2011).…”

“…In forensic psychiatric institutions, nurses are required to maintain closeness with their patients to foster the development of a therapeutic relationship (Jacob & Holmes, 2011). However, they also bear the responsibility of security-related tasks that may represent a barrier to doing that, such as room searches, urine toxicology screens, and behavioral observation/documentation (Byrt et al, 2018; Mason et al, 2008; Perron & Holmes, 2011). Of particular importance for forensic psychiatric nursing, the overlapping of these two responsibilities has effects that transcend the individual caring nurse–patient relationship: It serves a larger societal purpose rooted in public safety imperatives.…”

Ethical Issues Encountered by Forensic Psychiatric Nurses in Japan

“…In our study, nurse participants had provided care to patients with mental disorders that did not allow them to distinguish between good and evil and who had committed serious harmful acts (e.g., murder, arson, robbery, rape, indecent assault, and injury). The development of Western forensic psychiatric/correctional nursing has aimed to provide health and rehabilitation support for sentenced individuals, and experts' practice has significantly benefited the patients (Byrt et al, 2018; Holmes et al, 2015; Hufft, 2013). Similar attempts have been made in Japan to introduce an evaluation scale that serves as evidence of nursing (Shimosato et al, 2007), but the evaluation has not been standardized.…”