PERCEPTIONS OF NURSING TEAM OF AN EMERGENCY UNIT ABOUT THE PERSON WITH MENTAL DISORDER

Abstract

Aim: to apprehend the perception of the nursing team of an emergency unit about the person with a mental disorder. Method: it is a descriptive, exploratory and a qualitative research developed in 2009 in the emergency unit of a university hospital in Curitiba-PR, Brazil. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews involving 27 nurses. We used Content Analysis to analyze the data. Results: the nursing team sees the patient with mental disorder as an aggressive and agitated, they demonstrate stereotypical vision about it; they refer questions about the nursing care of patients with mental disorders but they consider that patients with mental disorders require nursing care. Conclusion: the nursing team of the emergency unit has a vision distorted and stigmatized on the person with a mental disorder and should receive training in the care of these patients.