The fifth chapter of the book looks at the cultural implications of psychiatric mental health nursing. I expect that this chapter will look at the different cultures where nursing care is practiced and the relationship between this culture and nursing. The authors focus on areas such as global cultures and their perception of mental health nursing. Different societies have different practices that are relevant to nursing care, especially mental health. The chapter is both descriptive and analytical of different cultures and their relationship with mental health nursing. At the same time, it focuses on the interaction between these concepts.
This chapter exhaustively highlights some of the barriers that are available in the provision of quality mental health services. It establishes culture as one of these barriers. Some of the other barriers that are described in the chapter also relate to culture. One of them is communication. A major difference emerges in terms of the views of different cultures based on the way they present mental health nursing. Distinct differences are evident between Eastern and Western cultures. Some common mental health conditions act as sources of stigma in the community. They lead to the development of new management approaches, which form part of the evaluation in the chapter. The authors establish the relationship between culture and mental health.
Apart from the cultural beliefs of different people on mental health, the authors also focus on the likely effects that culture has on the pharmacodynamics of drugs that are commonly used in the management of mental health conditions. Some populations are at risk of mismanagement due to the inherent culture and its effects on the course of their illnesses. The concept of culturally competent care is defined in this chapter. Other concepts, such as cultural awareness, knowledge, encounters, skills, and desire, are also incorporated.
The sixth chapter of this book defines the major concepts that are applied in ethical nursing in its major objective of evaluating the legal and ethical guidelines for safe practice. This chapter highlights some of the rights of patients. It describes how rights can be respected and maintained. The chapter looks at elements such as seclusion and restraint. Besides differentiating them, it also highlights some of their existing contraindications. Mental health laws govern major parts of nursing care, including the interaction between nurses and patients. This chapter presents the mental health laws on the global, regional, and national platforms.
The admission and discharge procedures that are a mandate for nurses are discussed in the chapter. Special conditions that require the practice of confidentiality, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIA) are also highlighted in the chapter. Nurses’ practice of confidentiality is highlighted together with the statement of laws that govern this ethical concept. Another major concept that this chapter looks at is the right of informed concept that is often overlooked in the delivery of health services. This chapter teaches nurses and other health professionals the benefits and application of the right to informed consent in their service delivery.
Some situations demand the suspension of special civil liberties such as the freedom of confidentiality. As my expectation, even before reading the chapter, it also sheds light on the special situations where the rights are suspended. In the case of mistreatment such as child abuse, this chapter indicates that health practitioners, especially nurses, can withdraw the right to confidentiality for these patients for the benefit of the victims.