Nutritional knowledge of mental health nurses working in the Irish Forensic Mental Health Service

Abstract

This cross-sectional design study investigated the nutrition knowledge of Irish Forensic Mental Health Nurses (IFMHN). It was primarily hypothesised that IFMHN have a good level of nutrition knowledge. Following the application of various inclusion and exclusion criteria, all remaining nurses employed in the Irish Forensic Mental Health Service were invited to complete a validated nutrition knowledge questionnaire designed by Parmenter and Wardle (1999). The original questionnaire was slightly modified to suit an Irish population. The data obtained was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Software, Version 20.0 and significance was set at the 0.05 level. A response rate of 85.7% (n= 96) was achieved, comprising of 52 females (54.7%) and 43 males (45.3%). This study found that the mean nutritional knowledge score of all participants was 76 ±12.7 (69.1%). The original hypothesis was therefore accepted. It was noted that female staff had a significantly greater knowledge of nutrition than male staff (p = 0.048) and the deputy ward-manager grade (CNM1) had a significantly lower level of knowledge than the ward-manager grade. The present study has revealed that IFMHN have a good level of nutrition knowledge. However, their relatively poor score in the diet–disease relationships section requires further analysis and may suggest that increased education may be required for mental health nurses in the area of health problems and diseases associated with diet.