Open Collections

Thomas, Sage

University of British Columbia

Background: Worldwide, mental health and substance use (MHSU) disorders are the primary contributors to disability among children and youth and typically have an early age of onset. In rural communities, children and youth may experience compounding barriers to accessing MHSU care. Nurses may be the first point of contact and key support for rural children and youth needing MHSU care. However, the experiences of nurses regarding rural child and youth MHSU care in community settings in BC is understudied. Research Question: What can be learned from rural nurses about child and youth MHSU care in community settings in British Columbia, Canada? Methodology: This qualitative study used an interpretive descriptive approach to understand rural nurses' insights. Actively licensed or registered nurses who work in a rural and/or remote community setting in British Columbia with children and/or youth (up to age 25 years) were included using purposive and snowball sampling recruitment strategies. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews informed by the “Knowing the Rural Community” nursing framework (the Framework) and Community Health Nurses of Canada (CHNC) standards of practice. Data Analysis: Reflexive thematic analysis and interpretive description were used to code and develop themes. Results: Participants (n=11) worked in a range of settings, from outpost nursing to an outreach clinic. Eight of the nurses provided generalist care with MHSU care embedded within broader nursing care, while three nurses worked as MHSU specialists. Three themes were constructed from the data about what can be learned from rural nurses about child and youth MHSU care: child and youth MHSU was more bound to the rural and remote context than adults; MHSU care was more than just MHSU care; and rural nurses were clear on what supported them to provide child and youth MHSU care. Discussion: Rural nurses may play a pivotal role in early MHSU intervention among children and youth. Their unique positions as initial points of contact could enable them to build trust and facilitate early identification and treatment of MHSU issues. Additionally, rural nurses are well-positioned to support rural-centric approaches to MHSU care, leveraging their familiarity with local community contexts.

Text

2024-08-22

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/89010

Nursing

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/