role of nurses in prevention of mental illnesses

1. ROLE OF NURSE IN PREVENTION OF
MENTAL ILLNESS
Sandeep Avasthi Govt. nursing
college, Alwar

3. 1. Care of Antenatal mothers
• Advise her not to be
tense
• Develop positive
attitude towards
expected baby
• Emphasize on
importance of balanced
diet-
• Don’t bother about sex
of the baby

4. 2. Well planned obstetrical care during natal
period
• Plan where to go for
delivery, prefer
institutional care
• Take decision for
LSCS timely
• Care of new born
especially cases of
forcep delivery,
prolonged labour,
NNJ, Birth
Asphyxia,
congenital
anomalies like-cleft
lip & palate,
T.E.Fistula etc.

5. 3. Post natal management
• Psychological Care of mother especially those
who are anxious, worried or not satisfied with the
outcome to prevent possibility of post partum
depression.
• Timely vaccination of under five babies
• Exclusively breast feeding up to 6 months
• Adequate love and affection to child to make him
physically and mentally healthy
• Be watchful to assess developmental delays-like –
delay in speaking, delay in neck holding, delay in
standing & walking.

6. • Psychological Support to Those
having physically and mentally
handicapped children – like-mentally
retarded, cerebral palsy, skyphosis,
poliomyelitis, Blindness, Hearing
impaired etc.
• Listen to them, acknowledge their
feelings
• Suggest them correctional services
available like –speech therapist,
physiotherapist, clinical psychologist,
counsellor etc.

7. 5. Care of elderly people
• Listen to them
• Identify their needs physical
and mental and plan
accordingly
• Assess support system
available to them
• Utilize their usefulness to
society like-teaching skills,
legal knowledge, clerical
knowledge, marketing,
social relationship etc.

8. 6. Identify population experiencing
situational crisis
• Like- failure in exam or
business, unemployment,
marital conflict, divorced,
death of loved one or bread
earner of family, drug
addicts, rape victims,
women at menopause,
divorced and cases of
marital conflict
• Plan counselling services
for these people to assist
them in coping the situation
and refer to psychiatrist if it
is needed.

9. 7. Detect cases of severe mental illnesses and
mental retardation.
• Prepare the family to take care
of such cases with positive
attitude and guide them how to
look after the patient at home
when he is discharged.
• Help family members and
mentally retarded to make
suitable adjustment in the
community.

10. • Maintain regular follow up
of these cases
• Advice them to consult
with psychiatrist, clinical
psychologist, social worker,
special educator etc.
• Tell them about the services
available like- NGO”s
working in these areas,
facilities available for MR
cases, special educational
schools available.

11. 8. Participation in School Mental Health
Program
• Identify behavioural
abnormalities of children-nail
biting, thumb sucking, autism,
ADHD
• Observe early signs of
learning difficulties like-
dyslexia, receptive language
disorder, expressive language
disorder, specific reading
disorder etc.
• Regular interaction between
parents and teacher
• Provide guidance and
counselling services

12. 9. Counselling services to
needy population
• Adolescents
• Victims of natural calamities –
flood, drought, war affected
people, terrorist attack, riots
affected victims etc
• People with prolonged illness
like-blood cancer, colon cancer,
Thalassemia, Renal Failure,
bed ridden patients –(paralysed,
vertebral column injuries, head
injuries),
• Those who are undergoing
surgical intervention to help
them cope the situation

13. 10. Society centred program for promoting
social development
• Collection of data related to
mental illnesses.
• Utilization of crisis
intervention services
available
• Organize Health Education
program related to mental
illness –causes, sign and
symptoms, treatment
available, prognosis

14. Continue……
 Plan regular discussion with
community on current issues like-
female foeticide, dowry, sex
determination, child marriage,
widow marriage, child abuse, drug
abuse and addictions- crime
gender biasness, girls education
etc.

15. Continue…..• Plan program for children
for character building and
inculcate good habits like –
no smoking, respect for
elders, no tobacco,
exercise, yoga and
meditation, deep breathing
and relaxation exercises,
good eating habits etc.

17. 1. Increase Public Awareness---
 Educate the public and
prominent persons who are
in close touch with
community like-PHN,
teachers, Religious leaders,
retired persons etc in how
to recognize early
symptoms of mental illness.

18. 2. Refer to Right Place at
right time-- The public
should also be educated to
refer these cases of abnormal
behaviour to right hospital or
right professional as early as
possible when they
acknowledge instead of
referring them to Tantrilk or
quacks or any other religious
places.

19. 3. Organize screening
camps
Develop simple
questionnaires on mental
illnesses in easy and local
languages and administer
them in the community or
schools, colleges, offices,
factories, business houses
etc for early identification
and reference.

20. 4. Organize mental health and psychiatric training to health
personnel- doctors, nurses, and social workers etc to
increase human

21. 5. Mental health education to public to
increase awareness

22. 6. Provide Health
Education to newly
diagnose patients and
their family on drugs –
It is essential to discuss
side effects or physical
complaints associated
with psychotropic drugs.
This will be helpful in
compliance of drugs
because we know a
psychiatric patient needs
to take medication for a
long time sometime life
long.

23. Prevention at tertiary level

24. Dr. Cameron in 1946.

25. Staffing pattern
1. Psychiatrist
2. Psychiatric nurse
3. PSW and
4. Therapists.
• This facility provides relief and some time to get relaxed
to the family of mentally ill. It also reduces unnecessary
burden or workload in state or district mental hospital. It
also helps the patient in developing discipline and
routine.

26. 2. Half-way homes—This
facility is useful for those
patients who don’t require
all the services of a mental
hospital but are not yet
ready to be discharged for
complete independent
living at home. They need
less supervised care for
medication and carrying out
daily activities. In a half
way home medical facilities
are also available.

27. 3. Foster Homes--- it
is a structured
homelike environment
made available to a
patient recovering
from mental illness. It
is provided by a
family which is
authorized by a
registered social
agency for family
care. The family is
paid by the agency.

28. 4.

29. 5. Group-Home

30. 6. Self-help Groups