A study of the care given by nurses in mental health cases.
This paper offers a review of the factors that may contribute to the chronically ill person maintaining or not maintaining adherence to prescibed treatment. Chronic mentally ill clients exert considerable energy avoiding loss of control. Both the therapeutic environment and the nurse-patient relationship are contextual factors furthering this goal. The paper looks at the important role played by the nurse in building a strong and reliable relationship with the mentally ill patient, in order to better adminster treatment.
“In the last several years, there has been a growing concern for the plight of family caregivers of persons with chronic disease and disability. This focus arose primarily from recognition that chronic disease is becoming a greater problem in our society. In part, this problem is due to the advances in medical science and technology that have prolonged the lives of many chronically ill persons.”