Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing Flashcards

Which brief validated tool is most widely used in community settings to screen for depression in adults?

Answer: Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)

The PHQ-9 is a 9-item validated screening tool widely used in primary care and community settings to screen for and monitor depression severity.

A community nurse is assessing a patient who reports hearing voices commanding self-harm. The MOST appropriate immediate action is:

Answer: Conduct a full suicide and homicide risk assessment and arrange immediate psychiatric evaluation

Command hallucinations for self-harm represent a psychiatric emergency requiring immediate risk assessment and urgent psychiatric evaluation or hospitalization.

Which US law mandates that insurance coverage for mental health and substance use disorders be comparable to coverage for medical and surgical care?

Answer: Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA)

The MHPAEA (2008) and its 2010 ACA amendments require that mental health and substance use disorder benefits be provided on par with medical/surgical benefits.

In the context of community mental health, what does 'recovery' mean according to SAMHSA?

Answer: A process of change through which individuals improve health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and reach their full potential

SAMHSA's recovery model defines recovery as a personal, holistic process focused on wellness, self-determination, and meaningful participation in life beyond symptom elimination.

A community health nurse is assessing a teenager using the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). This tool primarily assesses:

Answer: Suicidal ideation intensity and suicidal behavior history

The C-SSRS is a validated, evidence-based tool that systematically assesses the type and severity of suicidal ideation and history of suicidal behavior.

Which therapeutic communication technique should a community nurse use when a patient with schizophrenia expresses a delusion?

Answer: Do not reinforce the delusion but acknowledge the patient's feelings without arguing about reality

The therapeutic approach to delusions is to avoid reinforcing them while acknowledging the patient's emotional experience without directly confronting or agreeing with the delusion.