Abstract
Internationally, and in New Zealand the issue of illicit substance use has become a point of concern for healthcare professionals in acute psychiatric settings over the past decade. the primary aim of this integrative review was to explore inpatient psychiatric staff management of illicit substance affected patients who have been admitted to psychiatric inpatient units. The objectives of the review were exploring the problems that arise in these settings as a result of illicit substances being present during or at the time of admission, and identifying service delivery options that have been used to address these problems. Wittenmore and Knafl's (2005) methodological framework guided the way this integrative review was conducted. Through this process thirteen articles met the study's inclusion criteria which were articles completed in the past ten years, set in psychiatric inpatient settings or a setting associated with psychiatric inpatient setting, study participants were between 15-64 years of age and participants whose illicit substance use was directly related to impeding their treatment and management. Once the articles for inclusion were identified critical appraisal was undertaken utilising tools designed through the Johanna Briggs Institute. These tools alongside the framework set out by Braun and Clark (2006) were used through the data extraction process. Six themes were established through the data extraction process. The themes which emerged were the prevalence and burden of co-existing problems experienced by psychiatric patients, the need for ongoing education and training for healthcare professionals, integrating services to meet the need of both mental health care and addiction issues related to illicit substance use, and what key management strategies are available to use when working with patients who are affected by illicit substances on inpatient psychiatric wards.