Facilitating Positive Outcomes through DREAM Presence Practice Guidelines in Mental Health Nursing

Abstract

Abstract Background Mental health nurses are fundamental in facilitating presence for positive nurse and patient outcomes. Presence is a fundamental component of nursing care that focuses on providing comfort, support, and compassion to patients. Objective The objective of this study is to facilitate a workshop series on DREAM presence practice guideline (Dedication, Respect through Relationship, Environment, Art of Nursing, and Motivation) due to the dire need for presence practice to improve quality nurse and patient outcomes in South Africa. Method As part of a large pre-test and post-test research, a workshop series was organized with nurses caring for adolescents with various mental health illnesses in the two major psychiatric hospitals in the North West Province, South Africa. Access was granted to the study areas after the researchers obtained approval from the Health Research Ethics Committee, North West University (HREC- Reference Number: NWU-00009-22-A1), South Africa, and the North West Province Department of Health (DoH) and the various study areas. Three workshops were conducted in three separate weeks with nurses as frontline health care providers for adolescents with mental illnesses to educate them on DREAM presence practice guidelines. Results The study revealed a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of DREAM presence practice guideline by the mental health nurses. Further revealed that mental health nurses want to care and be there for their patients, but they are constrained by various factors such as understaffing, lack of adequate support, poor working conditions, and lack of available resources. Due to the challenges associated with managing adolescents with mental illnesses and the need for presence practice to improve nurse and patient outcomes, there is a dire need to support the nurses working in these wards including adequate psychosocial support, staffing, and funding of the wards to enable nurses to effectively practice presence, which is crucial in achieving positive outcomes. Generally, the study revealed that DREAM presence practice guideline could be the missing link in facilitating quality care in the management of adolescents with mental health illnesses. Participants suggested that mental health nurses setting boundaries during care, watching out for patients’ body language, being patient with the patients, and being open-minded will facilitate DREAM presence practice in the management of adolescents with mental illnesses.