Consumers’ perspectives of the meaning of safety in acute mental health inpatient services

Background and Aim: Safety is a priority in the acute mental health inpatient setting (ACQSHC 2014). Safety is commonly represented in government policy as the reduction or elimination of risk (AIHW 2018). Defining safety as the reduction or elimination of risk means this is where funding and resources are likely to be directed. This has limitations however, as it can lead to environments and processes considered by mental health services to be safe, but are not aligned with what people with lived experience of mental illness deem to be safe (Cutler, Moxham & Stephens 2015). This PhD study explored the ways in which safety is conceptualised by people who have experienced admission to an acute mental health inpatient unit. Materials and Methods: The study used a phenomenographic research design to determine what safety means for people who have experienced admission to an acute mental health inpatient unit. Phenomenography is a qualitative research approach that allows the diverse meanings held by people about a phenomenon to be identified (Marton 1981). The meanings of the phenomenon, rather than the phenomenon itself, are the focus of this research approach. Fifteen participants were individually interviewed for the study, using semi-structured interviews.