Psychiatric emergencies: epidemiological analysis and healthcare professionals' experiences.

Abstract

Background: Emergency departments ensure the safety of patients with mental health disorders and initiate psychiatric treatment. However, emergency workers experience several challenges in approaching patients with mental health disorders. It is essential to describe the epidemiological characteristics of cases and determine healthcare workers' opinions to identify the conditions that affect interventions. This study aimed to examine the epidemiology of patients evaluated for psychiatric emergencies in the emergency department and reveal healthcare professionals' experiences with emergency psychiatric cases.

Methods: The study comprised two parts. First, patients who attended Bilecik Training and Research Hospital's Emergency Department with psychiatric emergencies between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2023, were retrospectively examined. Second, using a phenomenological design and qualitative methodology, healthcare professionals were interviewed about their experiences and opinions regarding approaching patients who attended the emergency department with psychiatric emergencies and their diagnosis, treatment, and outcome processes.

Results: In the first part of the study, 1621 patients were evaluated during the study period: 163 were aged < 18 years and 1458 were aged ≥ 18 years, while 1079 were female (67.0%). In terms of diagnoses, 1417 (87.4%) were evaluated for anxiety and 74 (4.6%) for suicide attempts. In the second part, four themes and 11 categories emerged from the analysis of the interviews conducted with healthcare professionals. These themes were the path from fear to stigmatization, the necessity of therapeutic relationships, the necessity of change in intervention conditions, and the factors that change the meaning of the experience.

Conclusions: This study stresses the importance of considering healthcare professionals' experiences and highlights the necessity for change in the emergency department. It is anticipated that fulfilling these needs will reduce acute distress and improve the safety and recovery of patients presenting with psychiatric emergencies.