faculty focus
Nurses get more education on co-morbidity
There are new programs in the works to ensure nurses have the right skills to manage patients presenting with both mental and physical health conditions. By Amie Larter
With yet more research suggesting that physical health conditions amplify the risk of mental illness, nurses and nursing students are being called on to increase their knowledge in order to successfully manage cases where physical and mental issues coexist.
About one in nine Australians aged 16-85 have a mental health disorder and a physical condition at the same time, according to the federal government’ s latest figures on co-morbidity of mental disorders and physical conditions.
A report from the World Federation for Mental Health argues that a greater focus within healthcare on such cases is necessary, stating that“ even though mental health services are increasingly being recognised as critical, they still get short shrift”.
Associate professor Kim Ryan, CEO of the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses( ACMHN) believes that with the relatively even spread throughout regional and rural Australia, the nursing profession is positively placed to address this growing concern.
24 | Issue 8 2013