Challenging oppressive practice in mental health: The development and evaluation of a video based resource for student nurses

Some aspects of mental health nursing practice are inherently oppressive; for example detention in hospital or forced medication under restraint. What is more challenging is thinking about oppression in the context of everyday mental health nursing work, such as nursing handovers, and the impact this has on the quality and safety of service user care. An online resource was co-developed for use (via a workshop) with student mental health nurses to assist them with questioning their own and others practice in relation to oppression as exhibited in the nursing handover. The resource was evaluated using an approach broadly informed by Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick's four levels of learning model. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 student mental health nurses immediately at the end of the session where they were introduced to the video resource and again when they returned to school following their final management placement (24 interviews in total). Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Three overarching themes were identified: "enabling reflection on and in real life"; "surfacing mundane practice" and "confidence to challenge". Video based resources act as "tools" to facilitate reflective practice and enable student nurses to engage critically in questioning their own and others practice.

Effect of animated movie in combating child sleep health problems

Objective

Sleep deprivation among teens is a major health issue. Only 15% of teens get 8.5 h of sleep on school nights. Sleep deprivation can lead to poor grades, sleepiness and moodiness. We undertook a study to assess the prevalence of sleep habit disturbance among elementary school students in South Texas with Hispanic ethnicity predominance. We also found how much a video based on sleep education had an impact on these children.

Method

Once the Corpus Christi Independent School District (CCISD) approved the collection of baseline sleep data, questionnaires were administered using the Children’s Sleep Habit Questionnaire (CSHQ.) These questionnaires were distributed prior to the viewing of the educational and animated movie KNIGHTS (Keep Nurturing and Inspiring Good Habits in Teen Sleep). Four months later, a random follow-up was performed and the children were requested to respond to the same CSHQ.

Results

264 children from two elementary schools participated in this educational program. At baseline, 55.56% of the children had trouble sleeping. When the questionnaire was administered four months later, only 23.26% (p < 0.05) had trouble sleeping. Additionally, at baseline, approximately 60–70% children had some baseline bedtime resistance, anxiety dealing with sleep, issues with sleep duration and/or awakenings in the middle of the night. In the follow up questionnaire, results showed significant improvements in overall sleep habits, bedtime resistance, sleep anxiety and night awakenings amongst students (p < 0.05). However, no significant differences were seen in sleep duration and daytime sleepiness.

Conclusion

Sleep deprivation and good sleep habits remain as a pervasive challenge among elementary school students. Administering an animated video about sleep education along with a provider-based education may be an effective tool for educating elementary school students and decreasing the prevalence of these sleep-related issues. Future prospective randomized studies are suggested.