Doctoral graduates in mental health nursing in Victoria, Australia : the doctoral experience and contribution to scholarship

The last decade has seen a substantial increase in the number of psychiatric or mental health nurses in Victoria, Australia who hold doctoral qualifications. The literature refers to the importance of scholarship for the professional development and recognition of nursing as a discipline. However, there is a paucity of literature addressing the contribution of nursing doctoral graduates to scholarship in mental health nursing or indeed the broader nursing profession. This paper presents the findings from a survey of psychiatric nurse doctoral graduates currently residing in the State of Victoria. A questionnaire was developed by the authors and distributed to the known doctoral graduates. The main findings demonstrate considerable variation in the discipline and topic of inquiry and in the extent to which doctoral studies had led to dissemination of research findings and engagement in further scholarly activity. The strengthening of mental health nursing knowledge requires scholarship and doctoral graduates are expected to make a major contribution, through research and the dissemination of findings. This paper presents a descriptive overview of doctoral graduates in one State of Australia with a particular focus on research and scholarship.

Mental health triage nursing : an Australian perspective

This paper presents the findings of a doctoral research project that involved a state-wide investigation into mental health triage nursing in Victoria, Australia. Mental health triage is a specialized domain of nursing practice that has emerged within the context of wider mental health reform in the State. The overall aim of the study was to produce a comprehensive definition and description of psychiatric triage nursing in Victoria. Methodological triangulation was used in the design of the study to enable the use of both survey (n = 139) and semi-structured interview (n = 21) data collection methods. Mental health triage nursing was found to be a complex, stressful role that involves high levels of responsibility, clinical decision making, and multiple role functions, many of which overlap into areas of practice previously the exclusive domain of medicine, such as assessment, diagnosis, and referral. The paper raises discussion on contemporary professional issues of concern to mental health triage nursing, and concludes with recommendations for the future development of the discipline.

Nutritional psychiatry research: an emerging discipline and its intersection with global urbanization, environmental challenges and the evolutionary mismatch

In 21st-century public health, rapid urbanization and mental health disorders are a growing global concern. The relationship between diet, brain function and the risk of mental disorders has been the subject of intense research in recent years. In this review, we examine some of the potential socioeconomic and environmental challenges detracting from the traditional dietary patterns that might otherwise support positive mental health. In the context of urban expansion, climate change, cultural and technological changes and the global industrialization and ultraprocessing of food, findings related to nutrition and mental health are connected to some of the most pressing issues of our time. The research is also of relevance to matters of biophysiological anthropology. We explore some aspects of a potential evolutionary mismatch between our ancestral past (Paleolithic, Neolithic) and the contemporary nutritional environment. Changes related to dietary acid load, advanced glycation end products and microbiota (via dietary choices and cooking practices) may be of relevance to depression, anxiety and other mental disorders. In particular, the results of emerging studies demonstrate the importance of prenatal and early childhood dietary practices within the developmental origins of health and disease concept. There is still much work to be done before these population studies and their mirrored advances in bench research can provide translation to clinical medicine and public health policy. However, the clear message is that in the midst of a looming global epidemic, we ignore nutrition at our peril.

Assessing the economic costs of parental mental illness

The economics discipline is broadly concerned with the allocation of scarce societal resources in the context of unlimited societal wants. Intrinsic to economics is the concept of choice – that is, how can we best use scarce societal resources when our wants are greater than the resources available to us. If we were able to satisfy all our wants and needs with our available resources, there would be no need for the discipline of economics! In most economies, markets are used to make these decisions. Markets are basically a mechanism whereby consumers and producers interact in such a way that the “best” allocation of resources is thought to occur. This “best” allocation of resources in economics is said to be an efficient allocation. Efficiency basically assumes that the correct types of services are being produced (allocative efficiency) in the least resource-intensive way (technical efficiency). Inherent within all these concepts is not just cost but also the benefit derived from the consumption of different goods and services. A central tenant of economics is the concept of opportunity cost whereby the true cost of any given action (or service) is the benefit which would have been attained if the resources used in providing that action or service were used in an alternative way. Therefore, both costs and benefits are central to the economic way of thinking. Contrary to much public perception, economics is not necessarily about cutting costs; rather, it is about using resources in the “best” possible way. Inherent within this idea of “best” is “value,” “benefit,” or “utility” (utility is the term most often seen in economics textbooks to refer to the value of using resources). Unfortunately, there are many assumptions which need to be met for markets to operate in an ideal way. One important assumption is that consumers of goods and services need to be aware of the full impact and consequences of all consumption choices. When market failures occur, governments can sometimes intervene in the operation of markets either because the markets are not working properly (largely because the assumptions underpinning the market mechanism are not met) or for social-justice or equity considerations (Rice and Unruh, 2009).

Working in mental health

In all health professions, students are required to spend a certain number of hours in a healthcare setting working within their discipline-specific profession.