Secondary analysis of data can inform care delivery for Indigenous women in an acute mental health inpatient unit

• Published in: International journal of mental health nursing Vol. 26; no. 1; pp. 77 - 87
• Main Authors: Bradley, Pat, Cunningham, Teresa, Lowell, Anne, Nagel, Tricia, Dunn, Sandra
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.02.2017
• Subjects: Aboriginal Australians; Acute Disease; acute inpatient; Adult; Age Factors; Analysis; Australia; Data; data analysis; Female; Health Services, Indigenous - organization & administration; Health Services, Indigenous - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Indigenous; Indigenous peoples; Inpatient care; Legal status; Length of Stay; Male; Medical diagnosis; Mental Disorders - ethnology; Mental Disorders - therapy; Mental health; Mental health care; Mental health services; Multivariate analysis; Native peoples; Nursing; Oceanic Ancestry Group - psychology; Oceanic Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data; Patient Isolation - statistics & numerical data; Policy making; Psychiatric Department, Hospital - organization & administration; Psychiatric Department, Hospital - statistics & numerical data; Sex Factors; Social isolation; Software; Statistical methods; Variance analysis; Women; Womens health; Australia; data analysis; acute inpatient; Indigenous; mental health; women
• ISSN: 1445-8330; 1447-0349
• DOI: 10.1111/inm.12289

There is a paucity of research exploring Indigenous women's experiences in acute mental health inpatient services in Australia. Even less is known of Indigenous women's experience of seclusion events, as published data are rarely disaggregated by both indigeneity and gender. This research used secondary analysis of pre‐existing datasets to identify any quantifiable difference in recorded experience between Indigenous and non‐Indigenous women, and between Indigenous women and Indigenous men in an acute mental health inpatient unit. Standard separation data of age, length of stay, legal status, and discharge diagnosis were analysed, as were seclusion register data of age, seclusion grounds, and number of seclusion events. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data, and where warranted, inferential statistical methods used SPSS software to apply analysis of variance/multivariate analysis of variance testing. The results showed evidence that secondary analysis of existing datasets can provide a rich source of information to describe the experience of target groups, and to guide service planning and delivery of individualized, culturally‐secure mental health care at a local level. The results are discussed, service and policy development implications are explored, and suggestions for further research are offered.