A qualitative synthesis of patients' experiences of re-traumatization in acute mental health inpatient settings

Rates of re-traumatization among mentally ill-health patients have risen  significantly over the past decade and clinical guidelines place mental health nurses  at the heart of their care. Aim: To gather, analyse, and synthesize the evidence on people's experiences on retraumatization in acute mental health inpatient settings. Method: A systematic search for qualitative studies (CINAHL, MEDLINE, ASSIA,  PsycINFO, and EMBASE) was conducted. Two authors independently assessed  eligibility and appraised methodological quality using Joanna Briggs's quality appraisal  tool and extracted data. The analysis followed the principles of interpretative  synthesis.Results: Fourteen papers were included for thematic synthesis. Three themes  emerged: (1) Quality of staff interaction; (2) Specific interventions, (Sub-theme nature  of symptoms); and (3) Nature of the environment. Discussion: Our findings demonstrate that patients are experiencing re-traumatization in acute mental health inpatient settings and that there is little being done to prevent it from occurring. Implications for Practice: This study is the first to analyse the factors that contribute to re-traumatization and make recommendations to mental healthcare professionals  to reduce the harmful practices in place in inpatient settings. It is suggested that  training staff in trauma-informed care and allowing patients to be experts in their  own care can reduce the rates of re-traumatization