Impact of collaborative nursing care on the recovery process of mental health day hospital users: a mixed-methods study protocol

Abstract

IntroductionVery few collaborative nursing care interventions have been studied and shown to be effective in the context of the paradigm shift towards recovery in mental health nursing. Understanding the changes produced in the recovery process of people with mental health problems can contribute to the design and implementation of new methodologies to offer effective and person-centred care.Methods and analysisThis is a mixed-methods study, which is structured in three phases. In phase one (baseline) and phase three (follow-up), quantitative data will be collected from patients at a mental health day hospitals based on a two-armed, parallel-design, non-randomised trial. In phase two, two groups will be established: an intervention group in which the intervention based on collaborative nursing care will be carried out through the codesign and implementation of activities through Participatory Action Research, and a control group in which the usual care dynamics will be continued. All the users of three mental health day hospitals who agree to participate in the study will be studied consecutively until the necessary sample size is reached. The outcomes used to evaluate the impact of the intervention will be the stage of the recovery process, the quality of the therapeutic relationship and the patient’s level of positive mental health.Ethics and disseminationThis study has been approved by the institutional review board of the reference hospital, FIDMAG Hermanas Hospitalarias (PR-2020-10) in July 2020. All participants will be able to voluntarily withdraw from the study at any time. For this reason, users will be given a sheet with all the precise information about the study to be carried out and written consent will be requested. Preliminary and final results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international congresses.Trial registration numberNCT04814576.