oai:gala.gre.ac.uk:9449
type: CreativeWork
name: The emergency care of young people who self-harm: an exploration of attitudes towards young people who self-harm and the care they receive from practitioners working in pre-hospital and hospital based emergency services
description: Aim: Using a mixed methods approach, this thesis seeks to explore the attitudes of emergency care staff towards young people (aged 12− 18 years) who self-harm and to gain an understanding of the basis of attitudes that exist. Background: This thesis has drawn on Strauss et al’s (1964), concept of the hospital as a negotiated order, a perspective that has latterly been applied to the organisation of hospital A&E services (Sbaih1997a&b 1998a&b, 2001, 2002). As the fundamental premise of emergency care work is the rapid assessment of patients’ needs, categorisation is an essential element of this work. This thesis therefore also draws on the sociological theories which have examined the categorisation of patients as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, as earlier sociological work has clearly demonstrated that practitioners working in emergency services judge patients based on their reasons for accessing the service (Roth 1972, Jeffery 1979, Dingwall & Murray 1983); patients who self-harm are amongst those adversely judged. However the extent to which these categorisations extend to young people was not wholly clear. Findings from earlier research that had considered this were inconclusive and inconsistent (Dingwall & Murray 1983, White 2002). Methods: A mixed methods approach, using a triangulation convergent design was employed. Staff employed in four emergency departments in South East London and five London Ambulance complexes that served these departments were surveyed; data from 143 questionnaires were analysed using SPSS. Qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 12 practitioners, seven nurses and five paramedics, with thematic analysis undertaken. The two data sets were integrated and analysed to identify where the two data sets were consistent and whether/where discrepancies existed. Results: Findings from this study indicate that age, i.e. being a young person, does influence attitudes towards self-harm. Young people are less adversely judged as thei…
abstract: Aim: Using a mixed methods approach, this thesis seeks to explore the attitudes of emergency care staff towards young people (aged 12− 18 years) who self-harm and to gain an understanding of the basis of attitudes that exist. Background: This thesis has drawn on Strauss et al’s (1964), concept of the hospital as a negotiated order, a perspective that has latterly been applied to the organisation of hospital A&E services (Sbaih1997a&b 1998a&b, 2001, 2002). As the fundamental premise of emergency care work is the rapid assessment of patients’ needs, categorisation is an essential element of this work. This thesis therefore also draws on the sociological theories which have examined the categorisation of patients as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, as earlier sociological work has clearly demonstrated that practitioners working in emergency services judge patients based on their reasons for accessing the service (Roth 1972, Jeffery 1979, Dingwall & Murray 1983); patients who self-harm are amongst those adversely judged. However the extent to which these categorisations extend to young people was not wholly clear. Findings from earlier research that had considered this were inconclusive and inconsistent (Dingwall & Murray 1983, White 2002). Methods: A mixed methods approach, using a triangulation convergent design was employed. Staff employed in four emergency departments in South East London and five London Ambulance complexes that served these departments were surveyed; data from 143 questionnaires were analysed using SPSS. Qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 12 practitioners, seven nurses and five paramedics, with thematic analysis undertaken. The two data sets were integrated and analysed to identify where the two data sets were consistent and whether/where discrepancies existed. Results: Findings from this study indicate that age, i.e. being a young person, does influence attitudes towards self-harm. Young people are less adversely judged as thei…
author: Cleaver, Karen Patricia
language: en
keywords: RC Internal medicine
date published: 2012-03
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:25:47Z
provider: University of Greenwich
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Greenwich