Psychiatric nurses are aware of the importance of the therapeutic relationship in psychiatric units. Nevertheless, a review of the scientific evidence indicates that theoretical knowledge alone is insufficient to establish an adequate therapeutic alliance. Therefore, strategies are required to promote changes to enhance the establishment of the working relationship. The aims of the study are to generate changes in how nurses establish the therapeutic relationship in acute psychiatric units, based on participative action research and to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of evidence through this method. The study will use a mixed method design. Qualitative methodology, through participative action research, will be employed to implement scientific evidence on the therapeutic relationship. A quasi-experimental, one-group, pre-test/post-test design will also be used to quantitatively measure the effectiveness of the implementation of the evidence. Participants will consist of nurses and patients from two psychiatric units in Barcelona. Nurses will be selected by theoretical sampling, and patients assigned to each nurses will be selected by consecutive sampling. Qualitative data will be gathered through discussion groups and field diaries. Quantitative data will be collected through the Working Alliance Inventory and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. Qualitative data will be analysed through the technique of content analysis and quantitative data through descriptive and inferential statistics. This study will help to understand the process of change in a nursing team working in an inpatient psychiatric ward and will allow nurses to generate knowledge, identify difficulties, and establish strategies to implement change, as well as to assess whether the quality of the care they provide shows a qualitative improvement.

In recent years, there has been an increase in studies evaluating the effectiveness of mental health literacy programs within the context of education as a universal, preventive intervention. A systematic review and meta-analysis regarding the effectiveness of mental health literacy interventions in schools, from 2013 to the present, on mental health knowledge, stigma, and help-seeking is conducted. Of the 795 identified references, 15 studies met the inclusion criteria. Mental health knowledge increased after the interventions (standardized mean difference: SMD = 0.61; 95% CI (0.05, 0.74)), at two months (SMD = 0.60; 95% CI (0.4, 1.07)) and six months (SMD = 0.39; 95% CI (0.27, 0.51)). No significant differences were observed between stigma and improving help-seeking. Mental health literacy interventions are effective in augmenting mental health knowledge, but not in reducing stigma or improving help-seeking behavior.

To study the significance of 'therapeutic relationship' between nurses and patients within the context of a psychiatric hospital. Narrative literature review. Content analysis. The significance of the therapeutic relationship is quite similar for both nurses and patients in psychiatric hospital units. Nevertheless, several factors may separate the two positions: the time available for the relationship, the negative perceptions on the part of both parties, and the insecurity of the setting. Increased knowledge and understanding of the significance of the therapeutic relationship from the perspective of nurses and patients would allow the strengthening of areas of mutual interest.

This article seeks to analyse the current state of scientific knowledge concerning critical thinking in nursing. The methodology used consisted of a scoping review of the main scientific databases using an applied search strategy. A total of 1518 studies published from January 1999 to June 2013 were identified, of which 90 met the inclusion criteria. The main conclusion drawn is that critical thinking in nursing is experiencing a growing interest in the study of both its concepts and its dimensions, as well as in the development of training strategies to further its development among both students and professionals. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that critical thinking has been investigated principally in the university setting, independent of conceptual models, with a variety of instruments used for its measurement. We recommend (i) the investigation of critical thinking among working professionals, (ii) the designing of evaluative instruments linked to conceptual models and (iii) the identification of strategies to promote critical thinking in the context of providing nursing care.

A holistic perspective on health implies giving careful consideration to the relationship between physical and mental health. In this regard the present study sought to determine the level of Positive Mental Health (PMH) among people with chronic physical health problems, and to examine the relationship between the observed levels of PMH and both physical health status and socio-demographic variables.

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) recommends the use of new educational methodologies and the evaluation of student satisfaction. Different instruments have been developed in Spain to evaluate different aspects such as clinical decisions and teamwork, however no instruments have been found that specifically evaluate student self-confidence and satisfaction during clinical simulation. The aim was to translate the Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning Scale (SCLS) questionnaire into Spanish and analyse its reliability and validity and understand the level of satisfaction and self-confidence of nursing students with respect to learning in clinical simulations. The study was carried out in two phases: (1) adaptation of the questionnaire into Spanish. (2) Cross-sectional study in a sample of 489 nursing students. The reliability and exploratory and confirmatory factorial analyses were performed. To analyse the relationship of the scale scores with the socio-demographic variables, the Fisher Student T-test or the ANOVA was used. The scale demonstrated high internal consistency reliability for the total scale and each of its dimensions. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.88 (0.83 to 0.81) for each of the dimensions. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed that both the one-dimensional and two-dimensional models were acceptable. The results showed average scores above 4 for both dimensions. The SCLS-Spanish translation demonstrated evidence of its validity and reliability for use to understand the level of satisfaction and self-confidence of nursing students in clinical simulation. Clinical simulations help students to increase their levels of confidence and satisfaction, enabling them to face real scenarios in clinical practice.