An Exploration of Online Positive Feedback in Relation to Mental Health Nursing Practice.
Mark Pearson, Stefan Rennick-Egglestone
PMID 40785155WHAT IT FOUND
Service users and carers praised mental health nurses for staying present in crisis, listening without judgement, building trust, and supporting recovery.
The paper describes these experiences, not proof that any approach improves outcomes.
Key findings
01After screening, 51 feedback items were analysed; 43 were unambiguously positive and 38 expressed gratitude.
02The feedback was grouped into four narrative domains: being there, listening and being heard, therapeutic relationships, and recovery.
03Mixed feedback often contrasted helpful mental health nurses with other staff or services experienced as less helpful.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study only analysed positive online feedback about mental health nurses, so it does not describe negative experiences or the full range of patient views. Feedback is self-selected; the authors note that only around 8% of people write online feedback, and the sample may not represent all service users. The researchers analysed public posts without a participant interview, so they could not confirm context or intended meaning. No clinical outcomes were measured, so the feedback cannot show that a nurse action caused recovery or reduced distress. The analysis was limited to UK statutory mental health services and to feedback selected by tag searches, which may have missed relevant items.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that mental health nurses are generally compassionate or that specific relational actions cause recovery. The study selected only positive online feedback, did not measure outcomes, and cannot separate the nurses' actions from other services.