Nursing Case Study: Addressing Societal Abuse in Mental Healthcare

This case study delves into the issue of societal abuse and its profound impact on individuals with mental health conditions. It examines how stigma, discrimination, and social inequalities contribute to barriers in healthcare access, employment, and housing. The study highlights the crucial role of nurses as advocates for these marginalized individuals, emphasizing their ethical and professional responsibility to address inequalities and ensure overall well-being. The analysis explores the adverse effects of stigma on mental health, the importance of nurses in promoting equitable treatment, and the need for healthcare policies focused on eliminating inequalities. While the study acknowledges the significance of advocacy, it notes the absence of a concluding summary and the use of older references, suggesting a need for updated perspectives and a more comprehensive overview of relevant healthcare frameworks. Desklib offers similar case studies and resources for students.

Running head: Health and Healing Completer
Health and Healing Completer
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Contents
Part A.........................................................................................................................................3
1. Title of Article:................................................................................................................3
2. Author/s:..........................................................................................................................3
3. Journal Title and Volume number:.................................................................................3
4. Date of submission:.........................................................................................................3
5. Is this article peer reviewed?...........................................................................................3
Part B:.........................................................................................................................................3
1. Introduction of paper:......................................................................................................3
2 a. Does the author clearly state a research question (or a hypothesis)? Do you think it is
easily identified? What is the question?.................................................................................3
b. What is the author’s viewpoint on this topic?....................................................................4
c. Does the author list the main ideas in the introduction that will be covered in answering
this question?..........................................................................................................................4
d. What are the main ideas? List them in the same order......................................................4
e. Did the introduction capture your interest? Why?.............................................................5
3. Body of paper.........................................................................................................................5
a. Does the author cover the topics listed in the introduction?..............................................5
b. Is the information well researched?...................................................................................5
c. Is the information well supported or unsupported. (Supported by citations/references). . .5
d. Is the article lacking information you expected to find?....................................................6
e. Why is this topic important to nursing practice?................................................................6

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4. Conclusion:............................................................................................................................6
5. a. Does the conclusion summarize clearly the findings of this research?...................6
b. Does the author introduce new content in the summary (from what is listed in
introduction?).........................................................................................................................6
c. Do you think the evidence provided in the journal article supports the authors view?......7
d. Reflect on the implications of the research findings on the profession of nursing............7
e. List how the findings impact your personal understanding of this topic area....................7
Part C: References.....................................................................................................................7
a. How many of the references are journal articles?...........................................................7
b. Are the references considered current?...........................................................................8
c. Are the references listed in APA format?.......................................................................8
References:.................................................................................................................................9

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Part A
1. Title of Article:
The Title of the article is “Societal abuse in the lives of individuals with mental illness”
2. Author/s:
The article was written by Sarah Benbow
3. Journal Title and Volume number:
The tile of the Journal is Canadian Nurse, volume 105.
4. Date of submission:
The submission date of the article was not specified; however the publication was on 2009.
5. Is this article peer reviewed?
The article was peer reviewed by the Canadian Nursing Journal.
In-Text Citation: (Benbow, 2009)
Part B:
1. Introduction of paper:
The author tries to understand how societal abuse as a result of unjust social structure
affects individuals with mental health conditions, and tries to identify ways in which nurses
can help these individuals by acting as their advocates.
2 a. Does the author clearly state a research question (or a hypothesis)? Do you think it
is easily identified? What is the question?

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The author clearly shows through her study, the impact of stigmatization (as a form
of societal abuse) on the life and health of individuals suffering from mental health
conditions, and what mental health nurses can do to help such individuals and reduce the
inequalities faced by them. The Author divided the study into these two aspects, namely the
effects of stigmatization and recommendations on what the nurses can do to help, which
allows scope for easy understanding and identification of the problem and its solution.
With an understanding of the research article, I was able to understand that the research
question to be “what are the effects of stigmatization on mental health patients, and what the
nurses can do to help them?”
b. What is the author’s viewpoint on this topic?
The Author believes that individuals suffering from mental health issues are some of
the most marginalized, stigmatized and devalued sections of the society. Due to this they
often face different types of societal abuses and inequalities such as barriers to access and
equity in healthcare, lack of employment opportunities, challenges to the access and
maintenance of housing for them as well as discrimination. The authors also believe that
nurses are at a unique position which allows them to address such inequalities and abuses and
act as advocates for these individuals. This can be an important strategy to alleviate the
inequalities faced by them.
c. Does the author list the main ideas in the introduction that will be covered in
answering this question?
The authors outlined the main ideas: the responsibilities of nurses as advocates and
societal abuse of individuals with mental health conditions.
d. What are the main ideas? List them in the same order.

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The main ideas proposed by the authors were: 1) Nurses have an ethical and
professional responsibility to act as advocates of their clients 2) Social Stigma has adverse
effects on the well being of individuals, especially ones with mental health conditions 3)
Acting as advocates, the nurses can help these individuals, addressing and eliminating the
inequalities faced by them.
e. Did the introduction capture your interest? Why?
This was a very interesting topic, as it provided an insight how individuals with
mental health problems face discrimination and inequality, which significantly affects their
well being, and how nurses can help such individuals, by acting as their advocates.
3. Body of paper
a. Does the author cover the topics listed in the introduction?
The author explains in detail the topic mentioned in the introduction, namely the
effects of stigma and the role of the nurse.
b. Is the information well researched?
The information outlined by the author seemed to be adequately supported by relevant
researches and citations. The author selected key studies that showed the adverse effects on
stigma on mental health, well being, job opportunities, access to healthcare and social
support, as well as providing citations for strategic policies that can be used to address the
inequalities faced by the afflicted individuals.

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c. Is the information well supported or unsupported. (Supported by
citations/references)
All the relevant information was well supported by citations by the Author. However
the citation provided were all more than 11 years, and hence fails to give a current
perspective to this issue.
d. Is the article lacking information you expected to find?
The article however could have included more information on healthcare policies and
framework which are focused on eliminating inequalities. Such knowledge can be vital for
anyone who wants to advocate for this group, by understanding the responsibilities of the
government to help them, and thus ensure such policies are implemented.
e. Why is this topic important to nursing practice?
A part of nursing practice is to ensure the overall health and well being of the client,
which expands the role of the nurse from just helping recovery, to that of an advocate and
well wisher of the patient, thereby ensuring a holistic care.
4. Conclusion:
The author did not make a final conclusion of the study where the points discussed in
the paper could be brought together. Instead the article ends with the analysis of the
responsibilities of the nurses as advocates.
5. a. Does the conclusion summarize clearly the findings of this research?
The author did not provide any conclusion of the study to summarize the findings. However,
an abstract was provided which outlined the structure and findings of the study.
b. Does the author introduce new content in the summary (from what is listed in
introduction?)

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The summary, given in the form of abstract did not include any additional information
than what was provided in the introduction.
c. Do you think the evidence provided in the journal article supports the authors view?
The evidence provided in the journal articles seemed to support the view of the authors, as
they all highlights the adverse effects of stigmatization, discrimination and social inequality
or abuse on the health and wellbeing of people with mental health problems.
d. Reflect on the implications of the research findings on the profession of nursing.
In the profession of nursing and more specifically mental health nursing, the article
implicates the necessity of nurses to be able to identify the social inequalities faced by
individuals with mental health problems, and how such inequalities affects their overall well
being. The article also highlights the professional and ethical responsibility of nurses to
ensure overall well being of their clients, and thus it implies the necessity of nurses to act as
advocates for these marginalized individuals, supporting and representing their needs and
challenges, and ensure their long term health.
e. List how the findings impact your personal understanding of this topic area.
Through this article, I was able to understand how social inequalities as well as
stigmatization can affect individuals, especially those suffering with mental illness. In was
also able to understand how their well being can be protected by serving as their advocates,
representing their needs and protecting them from these inequalities.
Part C: References
a. How many of the references are journal articles?
The author provided references from 16 Journal articles

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b. Are the references considered current?
None of the referred Journal Articles are current; they are all more than 11 years old.
c. Are the references listed in APA format?
All the references were formatted in the APA style.

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References:
Benbow, S. (2009). Societal abuse in the lives of individuals with mental illness. Canadian
Nurse, 105(6).