Nurses’ Participation in the Psychiatric Recovery Process: A Qualitative Study in Psychiatric Intensive Care Units in Chile

Abstract

Background: Recovery is an emerging approach. In Chile, attempts are being made to introduce the Recovery Model with specific guidelines for the care of people diagnosed with Severe Mental Disorders. The participation of nurses in this process is peripheral to the biomedical model. Objectives: To explore the participation of nurses in the recovery process of people hospitalised in Psychiatric Intensive Care between 2023 and 2024. Methods: Qualitative research, collective-case multisite study design in four hospitals. With the approval of four ethics committees, 18 nurses who signed informed consent were interviewed. Rapid qualitative analysis was performed. Results: Nursing care is mainly related to the caregiving, educational, and management roles. Recovery is associated with clinical improvement, and different components are identified, such as family and social support, the ability to resume control of one’s life, the existence of a future life plan, and the ability to manage one’s own illness. Conclusions: The results are consistent with elements described in contemporary approaches to recovery, incorporating autonomy, confidence in the person’s abilities, and shared decision-making. However, they are still far from modern approaches to personal and non-clinical recovery. Nursing needs to redirect its efforts toward recovery with a paradigm shift toward a model in which the person affected by a mental health condition is the protagonist of their own health process.