International Journal of Mental Health Nursing

Volume 27, Issue 3 pp. 1118-1126

Original Article

Lip service: Public mental health services and the care of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Luke Molloy RPN, MN (Hons),

Corresponding Author

Luke Molloy RPN, MN (Hons)

[email protected]

orcid.org/0000-0002-6120-9380

University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

Correspondence: Luke Molloy, University of Wollongong, George Evans Road, West Nowra, NSW 2541, Australia. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author

Richard Lakeman DNSci,

Richard Lakeman DNSci

Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia

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Kim Walker RN, PhD,

Kim Walker RN, PhD

St. Vincent's Private Hospital, Sydney, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia

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David Lees RN, PhD,

David Lees RN, PhD

University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

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Luke Molloy RPN, MN (Hons),

Corresponding Author

Luke Molloy RPN, MN (Hons)

[email protected]

orcid.org/0000-0002-6120-9380

University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

Correspondence: Luke Molloy, University of Wollongong, George Evans Road, West Nowra, NSW 2541, Australia. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author

Richard Lakeman DNSci,

Richard Lakeman DNSci

Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia

Search for more papers by this author

Kim Walker RN, PhD,

Kim Walker RN, PhD

St. Vincent's Private Hospital, Sydney, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia

Search for more papers by this author

David Lees RN, PhD,

David Lees RN, PhD

University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Search for more papers by this author

First published: 26 December 2017

https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12424

Citations: 10

Author's contribution: All authors have contributed to this paper across the four ICMJE criteria of authorship.

Disclosure statement: The authors report no conflict of interest.

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Abstract

The failure of public mental services in Australia to provide care deemed culturally safe for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has persisted despite several national reports and policies that have attempted to promote positive service change. Nurses represent the largest professional group practising within these services. This article reports on a multisited ethnography of mental health nursing practice as it relates to this group of mental health service users. It explores the beliefs and ideas that nurses identified about public mental health services and the services they provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. During the fieldwork, mental health nurses described the constricting effect of the biomedical paradigm of mental illness on their abilities to provide authentic holistic care focused on social and emotional well-being. Despite being the most numerous professional group in mental health services, the speciality of mental health nursing appears unable to change this situation and in many cases maintain this status quo to the potential detriment of their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service users.

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Volume27, Issue3

June 2018

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