Qualitative Exploration of Health Care Professionals’ Experiences Caring for Young People With Acute Severe Behavioral Disturbance in the Acute Care Setting

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the experience of health care professionals involved in the care of young people with acute severe behavioral disturbance across the acute care setting. Methods: We used purposive and snowball sampling to recruit paramedics, nurses, doctors, and mental health clinicians caring for young people with acute severe behavioral disturbance in the prehospital and/or emergency department environments. We conducted one-to-one telephone-based semistructured qualitative interviews with each staff member. The audio recordings were transcribed verbatim, and participant pseudonyms were assigned. We iteratively developed a thematic coding structure. Data collection continued until t..