Evidence suggests respite care reduces carers' burden by providing temporary relief, reducing stress and ensuring safety. Most research focuses on carers of people with dementia or physical disabilities, leaving a gap in understanding carers of individuals with mental illness (MI). Few studies explore their specific needs, indicating a crucial area for further research. This study utilised phenomenology to examine the perception of respite for those who care for people with mental illness. An interpretative phenomenological approach guided and informed the philosophy of the study. A purposive sample of 14 caregivers who utilise respite care (n = 14) provided narrative data through individual semi-structured interviews. Verbatim transcripts were analysed using van Manen's approach revealing eight key elements, four primary themes and an overarching essence of meaning. The themes include (1) feeling overwhelmed, (2) the process of obtaining respite, (3) facility suitability and (4) the need to keep going. The overarching essence of meaning was identified as "Constant care is constant." This study presents an in-depth analysis of the findings, supplemented by a comprehensive exploration based on established theoretical frameworks. Carers benefit from respite services by improving their mental and physical health and quality of life, but service delivery needs enhancement. Service providers should improve communication, offer flexible scheduling, and tailor services to individual needs. Training and education for respite care workers, especially in managing challenging situations and providing emotional support, are vital. Raising awareness through collaborations with healthcare providers and community organisations can better inform carers about available options.

Background: Postgraduate leadership education is increasingly recognised as essential for preparing nurses to navigate the complexities of contemporary healthcare. However, there remains limited empirical understanding of how nurses integrate leadership learning into everyday clinical practice and the contextual factors that shape its enactment. Aims: This paper examines the practical impact of a postgraduate leadership course on Registered Nurses’ clinical practice. Methods: Clandinin and Connelly’s three-dimensional narrative inquiry space guided this study. Eleven Registered Nurses who had completed a postgraduate leadership course participated in two semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using cross-narrative comparison to identify recurring threads and divergent experiences. Results: The practical impact of postgraduate leadership education was reflected in three interconnected narrative threads. ‘Identification of a skills gap’ described participants’ recognition of previously limiting leadership deficits. ‘Using the resources provided’ showed how leadership tools, frameworks and strategies were applied in practice. ‘Challenges of enacting education into practice’ highlighted contextual constraints that limited some participants’ ability to apply their learning despite strong motivation. Conclusion: Postgraduate leadership education can strengthen nurses’ clinical practice by enhancing leadership capability and readiness. However, organisational hierarchies, role clarity and structural support significantly influence the extent to which leadership learning can be enacted in practice.

BACKGROUND:There is an increasing need to develop innovative ways of collecting data that empower vulnerable people, such as those who use mental health services. AIM:To describe a novel, arts-based research method called the Jay-Canvas Artboard Approach (Jay-CAA), which involves a group collectively writing short descriptions on a canvas artboard about their experiences. DISCUSSION:The authors asked participants in two studies to use coloured pens to write decorative comments on shared canvas artboards. They then analysed this data using thematic analysis. CONCLUSION:The Jay-CAA enabled the creation and collection of data in a time-effective way that was unproblematic for recruiting and retaining participants. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE:The Jay-CAA method enables research participants to summarise and express their experiences.

BACKGROUND:Descriptive quantitative researchers often use surveys to collect data about a group or phenomenon. Determining the required sample size in descriptive surveys can pose a challenge as there is no simple 'formula' by which to calculate an appropriate sample. However, when a sample is too small the study may fail to answer the research question and too many responses can create resource implications. AIM:To explore considerations regarding the justification of adequate sample size in descriptive quantitative research. DISCUSSION:Several considerations may assist quantitative descriptive researchers in examining the appropriateness and justification of sample size. Response rates can guide decision-making around the proportion of the target population who respond. Additionally, consideration of any validated tools, the spread or responses and types of analysis can guide sampling decisions. CONCLUSION:The strategies in this article provide a considered approach to justifying sample size in descriptive quantitative research. Factors such as response rates and analytical considerations provide a transparent means of justifying an adequate sample. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE:Providing clear justification for the sample size within descriptive quantitative research demonstrates a robust research approach and optimises resource use.

Background: Clinical placements, or learning in practice experiences, have a profound effect on preregistration nursing students' interest in pursuing mental health nursing post-graduation and their attitudes towards mental illness. Aim: To investigate the impact of preregistration nursing students' involvement in a nonconventional mental health placement compared to students attending a conventional mental health placement. Methods: A quasi-experimental approach was adopted. Preregistration nurses attending either a conventional (n = 52) or nonconventional (n = 90) mental health learning in practice placement completed the 24item Pre-Placement Survey. Findings: Students who attended a conventional learning in practice placement setting showed no change in responses. Students who attended the nonconventional learning in practice setting reported decreased Negative Stereotypes and Anxiety Surrounding Mental Illness post-placement, including increased Future Career Interest in Mental Health Nursing and belief that mental health nurses make Valuable Contributions. Discussion: These findings echo the wider literature, which highlights that mental health learning in practice placements have an influence on mental health-related stigma and intention to practice. Conclusion: Mental health learning in practice placements for preregistration nurses in a nonconventional setting may promote the pursuit of mental health nursing post-registration. As a potential pipeline into an undersupplied specialist practice area, it is imperative for education providers to consider the benefits of nonconventional placement models and incorporate them into curricula. (c) 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Australian College of Nursing Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Emergency accommodation (EA) for those impacted by domestic violence (DV) established since the 1970s have provided vital support, fostering social connections among women who have experienced DV. This systematic review aims to investigate peer-to-peer interactions during EA stays for people who have experienced DV. Studies were included if they involved adult participants who had experienced DV, had attended an EA facility and the studies included information about the social outcomes of peer-to-peer interactions during their stay. Following a comprehensive database search, 15 qualitative studies were identified. COVIDENCE was used to manage the data. Results were categorized and synthesized into findings according to Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidelines. These synthesized findings are (1) Universality occurs at the intersection between social interactions and relationship formation, and (2) Becoming situationally aware enhanced women's consciousness of interpersonal dynamics and social well-being. Qualitative studies which looked at interpersonal contact between people who have experienced DV revealed that there are positive social outcomes when people interact together after having experienced DV. These findings underscore the profound social benefits attainable through EA. This review suggests that there is a rationale for creating residential programs and EA that enhance peer support and the generation of social capital for people who have experienced DV.

AIM:The aim of the present study was twofold. Firstly, to investigate the impact of social contact quantity and quality on stigmatising attitudes for pre-registration nursing students during a mental health clinical placement. Secondly, to compare these measures between students attending a traditional (i.e. hospital-based) and non-traditional (i.e. recovery-focused) mental health clinical placement. METHODS:A prospective cohort design was used to compare student nurses' quantity and quality of contact with individuals living with mental illness. Pre-registration nurses attended a traditional (i.e. hospital-based) (N = 97) or non-traditional (i.e. recovery-focussed) (N = 184) mental health clinical placement. Scores were collected at two timepoints (pre, post) on the General Intergroup Contact Quantity and Quality Scale (QICQCQ) and the Opening Minds Stigma Scale for Healthcare Providers (OMS-HC). Responses were compared between clinical placement types over timepoints via a repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance. Pearson correlations were performed to determine the nature and strength of relationships between intergroup contact and student nurses' stigmatising attitudes. The TREND reporting method was adhered to. RESULTS:A significant increase in contact quantity was identified after attending a non-traditional clinical placement (p = .009). The quality of intergroup contact reported during a non-traditional placement was significantly higher in Equality, Intimacy, Pleasantness, and Collaborativeness. No changes in intergroup contact quantity or quality were observed during the hospital-based placement (all p > .05). Correlational analyses showed that increases in these types of contact quality were significantly associated with lower stigmatising attitudes, lower desire to social distance, and lower stigma surrounding disclosure/help-seeking. CONCLUSION:The study highlights a significant association between high-quality intergroup contact and reduced stigmatising attitudes. Increases in contact quality were linked to lower levels of stigma, reduced social distancing, and a more supportive attitude toward disclosure and help-seeking. Results underscore the effectiveness of non-traditional mental health placements in fostering more meaningful and positive interactions between pre-registration student nurses and individuals with mental illness. This, in turn, contributes to a decrease in stigmatising attitudes among future healthcare professionals.

Mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression and psychosis represent a global health challenge. Stigma surrounding mental health continues to hinder help-seeking behaviours for people with mental illness and as this study demonstrates, nursing students as well. However, if student nurses are reluctant to seek help for mental health issues, how can others be expected to do so? This reluctance poses challenges in mental health nursing, impacting both care provision and nursing education. The present study seeks to explore the influence of traditional versus non-traditional mental health clinical placements on second-year nursing students' stigmatising beliefs and intentions to seek help for mental health issues. Employing a prospective cohort design using the TREND checklist, the study sampled second-year nursing students assigned to either traditional hospital-based or non-traditional recovery-focused mental health clinical placements. Using validated scales, stigmatising beliefs and help-seeking intentions were measured before and after the placements. Statistical analyses were conducted to assess changes in these variables over time and across placement settings. A significant impact of placement setting on help-seeking intentions was observed, with students in non-traditional placements showing an increased willingness to seek help. Additionally, non-traditional placements were found to significantly reduce stigmatising beliefs in all measured domains, suggesting that these settings may provide a more conducive environment for fostering positive attitudes towards mental health. Recovery-focused placements appear to offer experiences that can diminish stigma and encourage more positive perceptions and intentions related to mental health support.

An integrative review methodology was employed, following PRISMA guidelines and Whittemore and Knafi's method for integrative review. Thus, the review synthesised the findings of empirical literature published between 2005 and 2023 drawn from four databases: CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Scopus. From the seven studies that met the inclusion criteria, a number of themes emerged: (a) relief of carer burden; (b) benefits for individuals with Mental Illness (MI); (c) barriers to accessing respite care; and (d) inappropriate services model for respite care for individuals with MI. The review findings indicate that using respite care services can decrease a carer's burden and can positively impact both carers and individuals with MI. Conversely, respite care may cause an increase in carers' stress levels due to the lack of service availability, insufficient knowledge and understanding about respite care services for carers, respite accessibility challenges accessible for people with MI and the reluctance of people with MI to accept respite care.

Accessible summaryWhat is known on the subject? Arts‐based research is an established and accepted research approach and systematic reviews have been published on this methodology. There are many possible data collection techniques and study designs within arts‐based research, which have been implemented but not yet systematically reviewed. Rationales and challenges for arts‐based research have covered participants’ experiences of being in arts‐based studies in health service research. What the paper adds to existing knowledge? The main results of this systematic review are that mental health recovery concepts are effectively communicated by visual arts‐based research and participation in these studies is progressive and connecting for mental health consumers. This paper adds new knowledge about participants’ experiences specifically in visual arts‐based studies, where the participants are mental health consumers. The results are significant because they support visual arts‐based research in its development and popularity, both as a research approach and as an empowerment intervention. What are the implications for practice? The results of this systematic review can enhance the fields of qualitative research methods and mental health nursing. Recommendations for professional development can be advanced from consumers’ ideas and experiences of recovery reported in this review. Nurse scientists and consumer researchers can take into consideration visual arts‐based data collection techniques for use as research and empowerment interventions with mental health consumer participants. AbstractIntroductionArt creation has been found to be therapeutic to mental health consumers, making the prospect of art creation's conceivable benefits as a mental health research strategy worthy of consideration.AimThis systematic review aims to explore experiences of recovery among adults with a mental illness using visual art methods.MethodFollowing a comprehensive database search, 14 suitable studies were identified. These involved adult participants with a formal mental health diagnosis, or who self‐identify as having a mental illness. The studies employed arts‐based methodologies with participant‐created, visual art as their data. Articles underwent data extraction and quality appraisal with the JBI‐QARI (Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument).ResultsResults were categorised and further aggregated into two synthesised findings according to Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidelines. The synthesised findings are: (1) Creative artmaking enables the use of visual metaphors which can aid expression of feelings, externalisation of identity, and personal learning, and (2) Interpersonal and self‐connectedness through inclusion in community, receiving support when needed, and progressing through loss, are beneficial for mental health recovery.DiscussionThese findings are comparable to those already existing in the literature, and suggest that visual arts‐based research methods are as dependable as other qualitative research methods. Additionally, this systematic review reveals that when conducting research studies, there are benefits for mental health consumer participants when visual arts‐based methods are used.Implications for practiceA visual arts‐based research intervention can be concluded to have the effect of an empowerment intervention, as well as being a credible research method.

Therapeutic recreation is beneficial for people with and without disabilities, promoting an empowered, connected, and joyful life. The present study aimed to analyse canvas art created on a therapeutic recreation programme called Recovery Camp, to discover what they reveal about the shared experiences which have occurred. This study utilized an arts-based research method and thematic analysis to discover what participants have communicated via their artwork from ten camps between 2018 and 2019. This study adheres to the COREQ guidelines for qualitative studies. Reflexive thematic analysis produced subthemes which informed three main themes and an identified core meaning of Social Capital. The three main themes were Togetherness and teamwork, Positivity, and Gratitude for Recovery Camp. Based on these findings, canvas art has revealed that shared experiences during a therapeutic recreation camp were positive and connecting. Social capital was created and bridged at Recovery Camp through teamwork and prosocial attitudes. Gratitude has also been disclosed by participants for their shared positive experience.

The mass media represent a powerful societal institution that reflects and shapes the social, cultural and political world. Within health research, media content analysis is an increasingly popular tool for examining how the media represent, and potentially influence, audiences’ understandings of health. This submission comprises eight published papers analysing UK news media representations of health issues and policies, and an explanatory essay. The essay seeks to contextualise the papers within relevant theoretical literatures and demonstrate the papers’ original contributions, both individually and collectively, to knowledge in health communication and policy advocacy. The analytical developments between the submitted papers are contextualised within literatures on the mass media, media research and policymaking, each of which is has been a site of paradigmatic change. The submitted papers demonstrate the application of content analysis to UK newspaper and online news coverage of obesity, single-episodic drinking, alcohol pricing policy, smoke-free policy and e-cigarette regulation. Approaches used include quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods content analysis, consistent with the epistemological heterogeneity of the field. Each paper is informed by relevant theory, chiefly agenda setting theory and framing theory. While each paper produces its own novel topic-specific insights, the explanatory essay also considers commonalities across topics that lead to transferrable learning for practice in health communication and policy advocacy. The submitted works’ novel contributions to knowledge include: documenting media frames; analysing trends within media frames; documenting stakeholders’ engagement in media debates; highlighting the strategic importance of defining target groups; identifying areas for improvement in media health communication; identifying the need for a social justice approach to public health communication; and identifying the need to engage with values of public health. Specific transferrable learning emerging from synthesis of findings includes: the effectiveness of positioning children as affected groups in negating opposition arguments about individual responsibility; the opportunity to use trends in media coverage to anticipate media framing and policy actor engagement in media debates; and the need for health communication to avoid reproducing harmful stigma, stereotyping and inequality. While content analysis alone cannot provide conclusive prescriptions for media engagement, the submitted works mitigate the inherent restrictions of the method through the use of rigorous, theory-led methods and the triangulation of findings between different topics and analytical approaches. In doing so, the submitted works contribute to a growing international literature by providing health communicators and policy advocates with novel learning that may contribute to practice. The explanatory essay justifies the importance of studying mass media representations of health issues and policies, and demonstrates the contribution of the submitted works to understanding media representations of health issues and informing improved health policy advocacy.

This issue of Nurse Researcher focuses on ethnographic research in nursing. The three themed papers provide an overview of the ethnographic accomplishment dealing with methodological issues in the conduct of ethnographic work and how nursing and nurses' work is represented. The authors take account of how contemporary approaches to ethnography are shaped by understandings of and approaches to nursing.

It may be hard to get men talking about their mental health, but that is just what we need to do. Disciplines Medicine and Health Sciences | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication Details Moxham, L. & Patterson, C. (2015). Getting men to talk about suicide. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal, 23 (5), 39-39. This journal article is available at Research Online: http://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/3338 Getting men to talk about suicide By Lorna Moxham and Christopher Patterson