A qualitative exploration of emergency practitioner’s perspectives towards functional seizures and self-harm behaviours

Bailey, Cerys and Eccles, Fiona and Curvis, Will (2022) A qualitative exploration of emergency practitioner’s perspectives towards functional seizures and self-harm behaviours. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

This thesis presents three papers relating to the qualitative exploration of emergency department (ED) practitioners’ perspectives of 1) caring for people who accessed ED care for self-harm behaviours 2) caring for people living with functional seizures (FS), 3) a critical appraisal of both papers. The first section presents a meta-synthesis of 13 qualitative research papers which explored ED clinicians’ perspectives of caring for people who presented with self-harm behaviours. These were analysed through a meta-ethnographic approach and three themes were constructed: 1) Between “frustration, futility and failure”: The clinicians’ emotional response to self-harm, 2) Attitudes on a self-harm spectrum, 3) The ED in a challenging context. Findings highlight the need for increased training and support to help reduce the risk of burnout in this staff population. This has implications for the role of clinical psychology in the ED which are discussed. The second section presents an empirical research paper which explores eight ED consultants’ perspectives of caring for people with FS. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant, and the data was analysed using reflective thematic analysis. Three themes were constructed: “the personality of the ED and the role of the ED consultant” “how FS is onceptualised” and “the ED consultant lived experience of caring for FS patients”. This paper offers an essential understanding of the ED consultants’ perspectives and contributes to existing literature relating to other healthcare professionals’ views of working with people living with FS. The final section presents a critical appraisal, which incorporates the findings of both papers, and discusses strengths, limitations, reflections, and motivations for engaging in these topics. Recommendations for future research are also shared.