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The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that contribute to stigmas held by mental health practitioners about people with mental health issues.

A qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews was adopted to collect data from one focus group discussion comprised of six healthcare practitioners representing different aspects of health provision. Data were analysed using Nvivi.10 thematic content analysis, and major themes were identified. Participants also complete a demographic data sheet. This study was conducted in February 2018 at the medical city in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The focus group discussed the stigmas they held about people with mental health issues and the factors they perceived as heightening their prejudices. Factors identified included professional experiences, the media and community. Practitioners working in mental healthcare are vulnerable to developing stigmas about people with mental health problems. This research has begun to explore the factors that contribute to this phenomenon.

The participants were drawn from several different mental healthcare providers, so attitudes expressed cannot be generalised.

Practitioners healthcare providers of all types including clinical practitioners, administrators and programme planners have a duty to confront the stigma of mental health among the community and healthcare providers, by expanding the volume of academic literature being authored, improving continuing professional education and enhancing employment opportunities in that sector.

The outcomes of this study were mainly applicable to the professional mental health team, educator of healthcare practitioners, clinical practitioners, community mental healthcare services and research related to this topic, especially for improved ethical and professional values for healthcare providers and enlightenment of society as a whole.

This paper aims to explore the value that care from a primary mental health care nurse (PMHCN) can bring to people with mental health (MH) problems in health-care delivery.

This study used a focus group of 20 PMHCNs working in primary care (PC) health settings in Saudi Arabia before using thematic content analysis to describe and explore their views and experiences of the integration of MH care into PC units. The researchers used a semi-structured interview format, which began with open-ended probes and proceeded to use of theoretical sampling based on emerging data related to their experiences and perceptions in the integration process.

Four main themes were derived from the thematic analysis of interviews: collaboration, knowledge and experience, awareness and orientation care and influential role.

This study’s use of qualitative research methods has certain limitations, including the small sample size of 20 participants, which means that it may not be representative of all primary MH nurses in primary health-care centers in Saudi Arabia. To make the results applicable to a broader audience, the researcher sought to moderate this limitation by including participants with extensive experience in multiple settings and nurses of different ages.

The cost implications of the PMHCN service are not yet comprehensively understood, but it is apparent that this model is not only regarded extremely positively by MH practitioners but may also have significant benefits in terms of patient outcomes. The configuration of local services and relevant patient demographics will affect the extent to which this study’s findings are transferable. Meanwhile, further research in this area could seek to provide further evidence about the aspects of the PMHCN service model, such as secondary care referrals and waiting times, accident and emergency attendances and patient recovery rates and the impact of providing such a service on health-care practitioners as well as its cost-effectiveness.

This study’s findings suggest that PMHCNs believe that their care improves the quality of PC for patients in PC settings. Elements of the PC placement that professionals particularly valued include their ability to assist patients in their own community and the inclusion of volunteer stakeholders who act as preceptors. The participants expressed a need for improvement of policy related to referrals within the clinics.

Research supports the value of clinical supervision as an essential aspect of mental health nursing. Despite the need for this, there appears to be a deficit in qualified supervision in the mental health field, although efforts have been made toward advanced mental health practitioner nursing. This study aims to characterize the ideas that advanced mental health nurse practitioners hold about supervision in practice and to consider what is required to support changes to advanced mental health nursing in Saudi Arabia.

This study adopted a qualitative exploratory design that applied a phenomenological approach as the research method. Twelve postgraduate mental health nurses were recruited through purposive sampling.

The data analysis generated the central theme, which indicates the attributes of a competent supervisor of advanced mental health nurse practitioners. The components of a supervisor’s competence had the following three main themes: nursing competencies, professional characteristics and communication.

A limitation of this study is that the data was collected from practicing advanced care mental health practitioners in Saudi Arabia. Further research conducted in different geographical areas and with different categories of staff is warranted. The results of those studies could be compared against the results presented here.

Best practice measures indicated that mental health nurse practitioners working in mental health settings and private practice should receive supervision to help them reflect upon their daily nursing practice challenges.

The findings of this study indicate that to support mental health practitioners and advanced mental health practitioners working in private practice, competent supervisors need to be on hand and willing to invest in creating a supportive culture in practice.

The aim of this study is to investigate the roles of psychiatric mental health nurses during their work experiences in inpatient clinical settings.

A focus group of 10 graduate psychiatric nurses with more than two years’ practice in inpatient psychiatric settings reflected on their last six months’ work placements and continuous employment. The transcripts and field notes were analyzed through thematic analysis of inductive data.

Two main themes emerged: management roles and clinical roles. The participants reflected on caring activities and obstacles encountered in fulfilling their professional roles.

Multiple practice issues emerged. The participants perceived that psychiatric nurse specialists are required to perform more caring functions than practicable in the inpatient setting due to an excess of noncaring duties, structural minimization of the caring role and inadequate training. They felt that many of the functions performed were not within their expectations of the caring role of a psychiatric nurse specialist and believed that changes in nurse education and attention to clarification of nurses’ roles might enhance the role they play in patient care.