Edinburgh Napier University

  Aim
to explore the preparation that mental health nurses receive to address sexual health in practice.
Background
People who use the mental health services often have complex sexual health needs. Mental health nurses (MHNs) are well placed to offer support. However, this rarely happens in practice and therefore people's sexual health needs are not being routinely addressed. It is not known why this is the case.
Design
Systematic review and meta-ethnography.
Methods
EBSCO, PsychINFO, MEDLINE and ASSIA databases were searched using Booleans with Mesh and key terms including ‘mental health nurse’ and ‘sexual health’. Date range was June 2006 to June 2016. Discursive papers were excluded. Included papers (n=7) were synthesized using a meta-ethnographic approach.
Results
The search yielded 7 studies. Five key themes were identified: the (not so) therapeutic relationship; personal values dictating professional ones; institutionalised fear; being human; education: the answer but where is it?
Conclusions
The findings illustrate the complexity of supporting people with mental health and sexual health needs. They show the discomfort many nurses have about broaching sexual health. Arguably more than with most issues, personal values impacted strongly on professional practice. Understanding the depth and multifaceted nature of these themes is important, because strategies can then be developed to mitigate the barriers to best practice. For example, the findings presented here offer a framework from which structured education and support can be built.
Relevance for Clinical Practice
There is a need for MHNs to be more responsive to concerns around sexual health and it should be routinely included in their practice. This paper illuminates why this is not currently the case. By understanding this, remedial action can be taken by nurse educators. Implications are also discussed in relation to policy, research and practice.