Living in a stressful environment: How does stress affect an individual’s mental health?

Assignment Brief

This paper deals with the writing a report in the field of nursing that should follow the aspects below:

• The role and effects of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in curing mental health and depressed patients

• The role of nurse’ culture and its effects on the communication with depressed patients

• The advantages of work and disadvantages of unemployment on mental health

• The negative impact of stress on the depressed people

Instructions 

Questions

1. How effective is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in treating mental health patients with depression?

2. How does nurses’ culture impact on their interaction with patients in mental health care?

3. The benefits of work: How does unemployment affect an individual’s mental health?

4. Living in a stressful environment: How does stress affect an individual’s mental health?

Assignment guidelines – Introduction to Evidence based practice

A 3,000-word written assignment

Select a research question relating to your field of nursing from the list on Moodle. Conduct a literature search using the skills developed during the module. Explain and reflect on the literature searching process and include a table of the search terms used. Choose 5-6 articles related to the question from the search and describe them, comment on why you chose them, their findings and their relevance to your nursing practice.

Introduction (approx. 300-400 words)

Introduce the assignment and outline clearly what you aim to do.

Tell the reader what will be included in the assignment and in what order.

Introduce, define and discuss the importance of evidence based practice in relation to your field of nursing including the use and definition of evidence based practice models

Search (approx. 800 words)

Introduce your search terms.

Outline how you performed your literature search i.e. what databases you used, inclusion and exclusion criteria, any other filters used and provide rationale for these decisions with references.

Outline how you identified your key articles. Include enough detail so that your search could be conducted by the person reading it.  Include a copy of your search in the appendices

Discussion (approx. 1000 -1200 words)

Give an overview of the key articles in detail.

Conclusions (approx. 200-300 words)

This should summarise how you conducted the literature search and the results that you found as well as the key points from your articles.

Revisit the original research question to ensure this has been answered.

Implications for practice (approx. 200-300 words)

Outline the implications for your practice as a nurse. What has the evidence added to your knowledge base? What further information would you like to know? How does the process of searching for the evidence inform your practice? Were there gaps in the evidence?

References

Reference the assignment throughout.

Appendices

Add this table here, label it and refer to it in the text

General tips:

• Succinct writing: keeping within the word limit (3000 words +/- 10%)

• Good, clear presentation with correct grammar and spelling

• Use supporting references for the points that you make.  

• All work must use font size 12 with double spacing

• Avoid using the first person

Sample Answer

The Impact of Nurses’ Culture on Interaction with Mental Health Patients

Introduction

Effective communication between nurses and patients is fundamental in mental health care. Patients experiencing psychological distress or depression rely on nurses not only for clinical care but also for emotional support, understanding, and guidance. The ability of nurses to interact effectively with patients is influenced by multiple factors, one of the most significant being nurses’ culture. Culture encompasses professional norms, educational background, personal values, and organisational environment. It shapes how nurses interpret patient behaviour, provide care, and make ethical and clinical decisions.

The aim of this report is to explore how nurses’ culture affects communication and interaction with patients in mental health settings. This will be achieved through a systematic literature search, selection of key peer-reviewed articles, and a critical analysis of findings. The report will begin by introducing the principles of evidence-based practice (EBP), which underpins modern nursing care, ensuring interventions are informed by the best available research. Evidence-based practice models, such as the Johns’ Model of Reflection and Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt’s 5-step EBP process, provide structured approaches for integrating evidence into daily clinical practice (Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt, 2019).

The report will then describe the literature search process, including search terms, databases, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and rationale for selecting articles. The discussion will summarise key findings, highlighting how nurses’ culture influences communication, patient engagement, and therapeutic outcomes in mental health care. Finally, the report will draw conclusions, answer the research question, and reflect on implications for nursing practice, identifying areas where further research is needed.

Understanding the role of nurses’ culture is essential because communication failures in mental health care can compromise patient safety, reduce adherence to treatment, and negatively affect recovery. By exploring this topic, the report contributes to improving both patient outcomes and professional development within mental health nursing.

Continued...