Accessible summary
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The study aimed to develop, trial and evaluate a feasible, best-practice mental health screening and referral clinical pathway for generalist community nursing care of war veterans and war widow(er)s in Australia.
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This paper reports the evaluation pertaining to clients on whom the pathway was trialled and their informal carers, most of whom were highly satisfied or satisfied with care provided through application of the pathway.
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Understanding is gained of how community nurses might productively screen for mental health difficulties among not only war veteran and war widow(er) clients, but possibly clients in general.
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The trialled pathway, which was modified and refined following the study, is now available on the Internet as an evidence-based resource for community nurses in Australia to guide holistic community nursing care for war veterans and war widow(er)s where that care is funded by Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
Abstract
The study aimed to explore the effectiveness of a mental health screening and referral clinical pathway for generalist community nursing care of war veterans and war widow(er)s in Australia on outcomes of client self-reported mental health, quality of life, and client and carer satisfaction. The pathway was developed by literature review and consultation, then trialled and evaluated. Validated screening tools were embedded within the pathway to support generalist nurses’ mental health decision making. Pre- and post-measures were applied. Clients on whom the pathway was trialled were invited to complete an evaluation survey questionnaire, as were their informal carers. Most clients and carers who responded to these questionnaires were highly satisfied or satisfied with care provided through application of the pathway. This study adds understanding about one way that community nurses might identify people with mental health difficulties. The trialled pathway, which was modified and refined following the study, is now available on the Internet as an evidence-based resource for community nurses in Australia to guide practice and maximize holistic care for war veterans and war widow(er)s where that care is funded by Department of Veterans’ Affairs.