Till Örebro universitet

Background: In contemporary healthcare, both community and inpatient mental health and emergency services are important help-seeking avenues for persons with suicidal ideation and behaviour. Regarding nursing practice in these services, there is a strong focus on assessing and managing suicide risk. Within this clinical context, the perspectives of persons with suicidal ideation and behaviour are often overlooked.

Objective: To synthesise the literature examining the perceptions and experiences of persons with suicidal ideation and behaviour regarding their interactions with nurses.

Design: Review of qualitative and quantitative studies within a data-based convergent synthesis design.

Data sources: A systematic search of electronic databases (until January 2020) in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and PsycARTICLES. Additional articles were identified through hand searching reference lists.

Review methods: The methodological quality was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme for qualitative studies and the QualSyst tool for quantitative studies. Thematic analysis was used to identify the key themes and subthemes.

Results: In total, 26 studies were selected for analysis. Most studies were qualitative and focused on inpatient mental health services. The studies reflected a spectrum of positive and negative perceptions and experiences of persons with suicidal ideation and behaviour regarding their interactions with nurses. Three key themes were identified: being cared for and acknowledged as a unique individual, giving voice to myself in an atmosphere of connectedness, and encountering a nurturing space to address my suicidality.

Conclusions: This systematic review provides insights that can be used to encourage nurses to contribute to suicide prevention and treatment as part of an approach in which they care for, connect, and collaborate with persons experiencing suicidal ideation and behaviour as unique individuals.