Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40810651›Full record

ReviewJournal of psychiatric and mental health nursing2025

Safeguarding Experiences of People in Mental Distress, Police and Healthcare Practitioners: An Integrative Review.

Inga Heyman, Catriona Kennedy, Aileen Grant, Andrew Wooff

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Inga HeymanSchool of Health and Social Care, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4338-7714
Catriona KennedySchool of Pharmacy, Applied Sciences and Public Health, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3510-9113
Aileen GrantSchool of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedic Practice, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6146-101X
Andrew WooffSchool of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4600-3886

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionGlobally, there is demand on police and emergency health services to respond to people in mental distress. Research at this intersect has focused on decriminalisation of people with severe mental health disorders, police custody care or interagency collaborative models. There is little understanding of the experiences of stakeholders where mental distress is not associated with a severe mental disorder or criminal offence.

aimTo determine current knowledge about safeguarding of people in mental distress supported by police and healthcare practitioners.

methodA rigorous integrative review with 10 databases was searched January 2002 to January 2024.

resultsThe search filtered 12,451 titles and abstracts with 41 full-text articles appraised. Three overarching themes emerged: Safeguarding and care experiences of people in mental distress; intoxication, self-harm and aggression; professional perspectives and responses to people in mental distress. DISCUSSION: Experiences are varied. Whilst there is evidence of compassion, many reported negative experiences when self-harm and intoxication are involved, inconsistent professional responses and gaps in emergency police and mental health systems. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Unscheduled care and community mental health nurses have a vital role to play in identifying and influencing interdisciplinary gaps in out-of-hours emergency health and police processes to support people in mental distress to prevent repetitive distress cycles. This calls for an urgent re-imagining of unscheduled care mental health pathways, Specifically, where practice gaps impact on people who are intoxicated yet do not require inpatient care. RELEVANCE TO MENTAL HEALTH NURSING (FOR PEER REVIEWERS AND EDITORS ONLY): People in mental distress (PiMD) who come to police attention often require an interdisciplinary response. Unscheduled care and community mental health nurses play a key role in this support. This integrative review suggests there are systems gaps and variety in mental health and policing practice for PiMD, particularly for those who are intoxicated and/or who do not need inpatient care. Some PiMD experience cyclical, and at times, undignified and unsafe care. These gaps should be addressed through service redesign and sharing of evidence across disciplines whilst listening to and responding to perspectives of those experiencing mental distress in our communities.

Indexed as

Health PersonnelMental DisordersPoliceHumanscrime and mental healthmultidisciplinary carepatient experiencepsychiatric emergency nursingsystematic literature reviews

Identifiers

PMID40810651
PMCPMC12418150

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.