Dr. Bart Debyser

RN, Msc, PhD, Researcher Innovation of Care, Lecturer in Nursing, and PatientParticipation, Catholic Academy VIVES, Roeselaere, Belgium

Biography

Dr Bart Debyser is a registered nurse (mental health nursing/ general nursing) and has a rich and varied clinical background. Nowadays Bart is employed as a lecturer nursing and as researcher at the University college VIVES, Department of Health, Roeselare (Belgium). He is also employed as researcher at the Psychiatric Clinic of Pittem. Moreover, Bart is affiliated to the University Centre of Nursing and Midwifery of Ghent University, where he defended in April 2020 successfully his PhD dissertation (Doctor of Health Sciences). The subject of his PhD dissertation was: Meaning and Value of Patient Perspectives and Expertise in Health Care. Supervisors of his PhD were: Prof. dr. S. Verhaeghe & Prof. dr. A. Van Hecke.

Bart is the founder of various patient and user support groups. With these groups he influences nursing, health care organisations, educational programmes, research and policy. Bart is also member of the DUCIE (Developers of User and Carer Involvement in Higher Education) network. His main Research interest are Peer support, patient expertise, user and carer involvement; self-harm and suicide; disruptive behavior and aggression in health care.

Abstract

General outline of the presentation:

Starting point of our presentation is a qualitative Belgian study. This study explored family expectations of inpatient mental health services for adults with suicidal ideation. In particular we will focus on the core element highlighted in this study, namely how family members struggle to remain hopeful while looking through a lens of uncertainty. The family members fluctuated between hope and uncertainty depending on whether their expectations of care and treatment for their relative were met or unmet. When family members perceived that their expectations were met, it increased their hope and decreased their uncertainty. Conversely, when they perceived that their expectations were unmet, it thwarted their hope and increased their uncertainty. This key insight of the qualitative study will not only be discussed with the audience, but also put into perspective to enlighten the specific position of family members in contemporary mental health practice. Furthermore, this key insight will be elaborated in the light of previous qualitative research exploring how mental health nurses experience their role in relation to the care of mental health patients and of patients with suicidal ideation in particular.

Sources of research: Three qualitative studies based on grounded theory were performed. Interviews were conducted with respectively 14 family members of inpatients with suicidal ideation and with 26 & 28 nurses employed on mental health wards in psychiatric hospitals in Flanders (Belgium).

Presenters: Debyser, Bart & Verkest, Annelies who will replace Joeri Vandewalle, who unfortunately cannot present at the conference because of personal reasons.

References for the abstract

Vandewalle, J., Debyser, B., Deproost, E., Verhaeghe, S. (2021). Family expectations of inpatient mental health services for adults with suicidal ideation: qualitative study. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 30 (5), 1136-1148. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12864

Vandewalle, J., Deproost, E., Goossens, P., Verfaillie, J., Debyser, B. Beeckman, D., Van Hecke, A., Verhaeghe, S. (2020). The working alliance with patients experiencing suicidal ideation: a qualitative study of nurses’ perspectives. Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Vandewalle, J., Beeckman, D., Van Hecke, A., Debyser, B., Deproost, E., & Verhaeghe, S. (2019). ‘Promoting and preserving safety and a life-oriented perspective’: a qualitative study of nurses’ interactions with patients experiencing suicidal ideation. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing.

Vandewalle, J., Beeckman, D., Van Hecke, A., Debyser, B., Deproost, E., & Verhaeghe, S. (2019). Contact and communication with patients experiencing suicidal ideation: a qualitative study of nurses’ perspectives. Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Publications by Debyser in international journals incl. in the science citation index

• Debyser, B., Van Hecke, A., Duprez, V., Malfait, S., Beeckman, D., & Verhaeghe, S. (2020). The evaluation of nursing students by patients’ instrument: development and validation. Nurse Education Today, 89, 104391-104399.
• Vandewalle, J., Beeckman, D., Van Hecke, A., Debyser, B., Deproost, E. & Verhaeghe, S. (2019). ‘Promoting and preserving safety and a life-oriented perspective’: A qualitative study of nurses’ interactions with patients experiencing suicidal ideation. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 28, 1119–1131.
• Debyser, B., Berben, K., Beeckman, D., Deproost, E., Van Hecke, A. & Verhaeghe, S. (2019). The transition from patient to mental health peer worker: A grounded theory approach. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 28, 560–571.
• Vandewalle, J., Debyser, B., Beeckman, D., Vandecasteele, T., Deproost, E., Van Hecke, A. & Verhaeghe, S. (2018). Constructing a positive identity: A qualitative study of the driving forces of peer workers in mental health-care systems. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 27, 378–389.
• Debyser, B., Duprez, V., Beeckman, D., Vandewalle, J., Van Hecke, A., Deproost, E. & Verhaeghe, S. (2018). Mental health nurses and mental health peer workers: Self-perceptions of role-related clinical competences. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 27, 987–1001.
• Vandecasteele, T., Van Hecke, A., Duprez, V., Beeckman, D., Debyser, B., Grypdonck, M. & Verhaeghe, S. (2017). The influence of team members on nurses’ perceptions of transgressive behaviour in care relationships: A qualitative study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 73, 2373–2384.
• Vandewalle, J., Debyser, B., Beeckman, D., Vandecasteele, T., Van Hecke, A. & Verhaeghe, S. (2016). Peer workers’ perceptions and experiences of barriers to implementation of peer worker roles in mental health services: A literature review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 60, 234–250.
• Vandecasteele, T., Debyser, B., Van Hecke, A., De Backer, T., Beeckman, D. & Verhaeghe, S. (2015). Nurses’ perceptions of transgressive behaviour in care relationships: A qualitative study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 71, 2786–2798.
• Debyser, B., Grypdonck, M. H. F., Defloor, T. & Verhaeghe, S. T. L. (2011). Involvement of inpatient mental health clients in the practical training and assessment of mental health nursing students: Can it benefit clients and students? Nurse Education Today, 31, 198–203.