پرداختن به شکاف در نیازهای متنوع بهداشت روانی، در معرض خطر، محروم، محروم و جمعیت: فراخوانی برای اقدام پرستاری

Psychiatric nurses have an essential role in meeting the mental health needs of diverse, at-risk, underserved, and disenfranchised populations across the lifespan. This paper summarizes the needs of individuals especially at-risk for mental health disorders, acknowledging that such vulnerability is contextual, age-specific, and influenced by biological, behavioral, socio-demographic and cultural factors. With its longstanding commitment to cultural sensitivity and social justice, its pivotal role in healthcare, and its broad educational base, psychiatric nursing is well-positioned for leadership in addressing the gaps in mental health prevention and treatment services for vulnerable and underserved populations. This paper describes these issues, presents psychiatric nursing exemplars that address the problems, and makes strong recommendations to psychiatric nurse leaders, policy makers and mental health advocates to help achieve change. Psychiatric nurses practice in a variety of health settings caring for individuals from conception through late life who are highly vulnerable and at-risk for mental health disorders. Even with a growing body of literature about the importance of mental health, risk factors for mental illness and mental health-related disparities, the focus on mental health promotion and disease prevention continues to be minimalized or ignored (Calloway, 2007). A social justice perspective (Hoy, 2005) strongly supports the inherent human right to primary, secondary, and tertiary medical and mental health care resources (Pearson, 2012). With its longstanding commitment to cultural competence and social justice, its pivotal role in healthcare, and its broad educational base, psychiatric nursing is well positioned for leadership in addressing the gaps in mental health prevention and treatment services for vulnerable and underserved populations. Facilitating nursing's leadership in this area will require a sustained policy focus on psychiatric nursing and interprofessional research, practice, and educational models that enhance and expand existing roles and allow psychiatric nurses to practice fully within their scope.

Mental and physical health are inextricably linked. Our increasing awareness of behavioral and mental health challenges is coupled with knowledge of the growth in vulnerable, high-risk populations and the dramatic reduction in behavioral health providers among all professional groups. The result is that mental health for diverse, at risk, underserved and disenfranchised populations is a major public health problem. Nurses comprise the largest professional health provider group. Psychiatric nurses specifically have a broad base of preparation in physical and mental health, cultural sensitivity, social justice, consumer-driven care, and consumer education for self-care. The diverse practice areas and populations served by psychiatric nurses make this nursing specialty ideally suited to help solve this public health problem for the 21st Century. Further, psychiatric nursing research has produced solutions for many of the mental health preventive and treatment challenges experienced by vulnerable populations across the lifespan. Greater public awareness and application of these evidence-based solutions warrant advocacy on the part of all nursing organizations, advocacy groups, and healthcare professionals. We must work toward improving mental health of the nation. Action steps are recommended for efforts that support individual/family/community strengths; collaborative partnerships for prevention and treatment; public and professional education and awareness, and targeted research on mental health promotion, treatment and translation.