Recovery-Oriented Care in Acute Inpatient Mental Health Settings: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Australian mental health nurses will need to care with consumers of mental health services, within the domains of recovery. However, in acute inpatient mental health settings, nurses are without a clear description of how to be recovery-oriented. The intent of this qualitative study was to ask nurses to reflect on and describe current practice within acute inpatient services that are not overtly recovery-oriented. Results show that nurses can identify recovery and articulate with pragmatic clarity how to care within a recovery-oriented paradigm. Pragmatic modes of care described by nurses support using “champions” to assist with eventual system transformation in the delivery of mental health services.