Nursing Practice for Patients with Schizophrenia Admitted to the Seclusion Room of the Psychiatric Emergency Ward Due to Acute Symptoms

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the nursing practice for patients with schizophrenia admitted to the seclusion room of the psychiatric emergency ward due to acute symptoms. Observations and semi-structured interviews were conducted on eight nurses with 5 or more years of experience in the psychiatric ward and 3 or more years of experience in the psychiatric emergency ward. Based on this analysis, they were grouped into four major categories, 16 categories, and 46 subcategories. The nurses “relaxed the restrictions according to the judged mental function” for patients with schizophrenia from their admission to the seclusion room of the psychiatric emergency ward due to acute symptoms until the patients left the room. Based on this premise, the following events were practiced: (1) when acute symptoms were observed throughout, the nurses “provided support for daily living activities while carrying out behavioral restrictions safely”, (2) with the availability of more time to communicate with the patient, the nurses “maintained patient rest for recovery while providing reassurance”, and (3) when the patient started carrying out their own daily life independently, the nurses “supported the patient in preparing for the discharge plans while observing their daily life.” These indicated that nurses carried out nursing practice based on the recovery of the patients’ mental function.