Mental health nurses' empathy experiences towards consumers with dual diagnosis: A thematic analysis.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: There is a lack of evidence regarding mental health nurses' empathy towards consumers with dual diagnosis. This qualitative study aimed to describe mental health nurses' empathy towards consumers with dual diagnosis in Australian mental health settings. Through purposeful sampling, interviews were conducted with 17 mental health nurses who have experience in caring for consumers with dual diagnosis. Thematic analysis, as an inductive approach was used, to generate codes and themes from participant data. To report on this qualitative study, we adhered to the ENTREQ guidelines. Four themes emerged: challenges to develop empathy with consumers, lack of conducive attitude of nurses towards consumers, appraising consumers' emotions accurately and holistically responding to the appraised emotions. The findings indicated that developing empathy towards consumers with dual diagnosis is a complex task. Mental health nurses may struggle to empathize with consumers when encountering confrontational situations. Interventional studies are required to address the relationship between mental health nurses' attitudes, stress, burnout, compassion fatigue and empathy in relation to consumers with dual diagnosis. Understanding why mental health nurses emotional experiences differ about a similar challenging situation experienced by their consumers is vital. Further research on strategies to address empathy issues among mental health nurses could enhance nursing practice and consumer care.