August 2025 Monthly Literature Search – Safewards
This month’s literature search explores Safewards. Safewards is a program that encourages staff and consumers including carers, family, and support people to work together to make wards safer and more positive places to be. It helps nurses, clinical and supporting staff reduce conflict and support a culture of safety, respect and inclusion.
Grey literature
Full-text articles
Akinlotan, O., O’Connor, A., Peacham, B., & Crabb, L. (2025). ‘It Gives Me Safety to Be Here’: Patients’ Perspectives About Safety on Psychiatric Wards. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 34(1).
Björkdahl, A., Johansson, U., Kjellin, L., & Pelto‐Piri, V. (2024). Barriers and enablers to the implementation of Safewards and the alignment to the i‐PARIHS framework – A qualitative systematic review. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 33(1), 18–36.
Daguman, E. I., Hutchinson, M., & Lakeman, R. (2024). Uncovering Complexities in Reducing Aggression, Conflict and Restrictive Practices in Acute Mental Healthcare Settings: An Overview of Reviews. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 33(6), 1666–1686.
Daniel, C., Yap, C. Y. L., Knott, J. C., Ryan, A., Brittliff, R., & Gerdtz, M. (2025). The potential for Safewards to reduce restrictive interventions for people arriving to the emergency Department with police for a mental health assessment. International Emergency Nursing, 78, 101570.
Davies, B., Silver, J., Josham, S., Grist, E., Jones, L., Francis, N., Truelove, C., Shindler, M., Jones, S., & Gwatkin, A. (2021). An evaluation of the implementation of Safewards on an assessment and treatment unit for people with an intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 25(3), 357–369.
Dawson, S., Oster, C., Page, M., & George, S. (2024). Exploring the Safewards Programme to Reduce Restrictive Practices in Residential Aged Care: Protocol for a Pilot and Feasibility Study. Health Expectations, 27(5).
Dickens, G. L., Tabvuma, T., & Frost, S. A. (2020). Safewards: Changes in conflict, containment, and violence prevention climate during implementation. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 29(6), 1230–1240.
Duque, M., Annemans, M., Pink, S., & Spong, L. (2021). Everyday comforting practices in psychiatric hospital environments: A design anthropology approach. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 28(4), 644–655.
Finch, K., Lawrence, D., Williams, M. O., Thompson, A. R., & Hartwright, C. (2022). A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Safewards: Has Enthusiasm Exceeded Evidence? Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 43(2), 119–136.
Fletcher, J., Brophy, L., Pirkis, J., & Hamilton, B. (2021). Contextual Barriers and Enablers to Safewards Implementation in Victoria, Australia: Application of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12.
Fletcher, J., Reece, J., Kinner, S. A., Brophy, L., & Hamilton, B. (2020). Safewards Training in Victoria, Australia: A Descriptive Analysis of Two Training Methods and Subsequent Implementation. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 58(12), 32–42.
Hamilton, J., Cole, A., Bostwick, R., & Ngune, I. (2023). Getting a grip on Safewards: The cross impact of clinical supervision and Safewards model on clinical practice. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 32(3), 801–818.
Hamilton, J., Cole, A., Bostwick, R., & Ngune, I. (2024). Staff Perceptions on the Effectiveness of GRiP-S, a New Approach to Clinical Supervision Incorporating Safewards: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Issues in Mental H
ealth Nursing, 45(1), 85–95.
Hottinen, A., Rytilä‐Manninen, M., Laurén, J., Autio, S., Laiho, T., & Lindberg, N. (2020). Impact of the implementation of the safewards model on the social climate on adolescent psychiatric wards. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 29(3), 399–405.
Kernaghan, K., & Hurst, K. (2023). Reducing violence and aggression: a quality improvement project for safety on an acute mental health ward. BMJ Open Quality, 12(4), e002448.
Knauf, S. A., O’Brien, A. J., & Kirkman, A. M. (2023). An analysis of the barriers and enablers to implementing the Safewards model within inpatient mental health services. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 32(6), 1525–1543.
Knauf, S. A., O’Brien, A. J., & Kirkman, A. M. (2024). Implementation and Adaptation of the Safewards Model in the New Zealand Context. Perspectives of Tāngata Whai Ora and Staff. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 45(1), 37–54.
Luck, L., Kaczorowski, K., White, M., Dickens, G., & McDermid, F. (2024). Medical and surgical nurses’ experiences of modifying and implementing contextually suitable Safewards interventions into medical and surgical hospital wards. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 80(11), 4639–4653.
Mullen, A., Browne, G., Hamilton, B., Skinner, S., & Happell, B. (2022). Safewards: An integrative review of the literature within inpatient and forensic mental health units. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 31(5), 1090–1108. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13001
Mullen, A., Happell, B., Hamilton, B., & Skinner, S. (2025). Understanding the Consumers’ Experiences of Safewards: A Qualitative Exploratory Study. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 34(1).
Pelto-Piri, V., Kjellin, L., Backman, G., Carlsson, K., & Björkdahl, A. (2024). Patient responsiveness as a safewards fidelity indicator: a qualitative interview study on an acute psychiatric in-patient ward. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1), 922.
Simpson, A., Ali, R. A., Chadwick, M., Foye, U., & Brennan, G. (2024). Implementing Safewards on Children and Young People’s Wards: A Process and Outcomes Evaluation. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 45(6), 563–579.
Simpson, A., & Brennan, G. (2024). Safewards: 10 years on and what have we got? Journal of Mental Health, 33(3), 283–286.
Sorice, V., & Ekumah, N.-T. D. (2024). Navigating conflict mitigation and reduction: critical insights on Safewards models implementation across healthcare settings. Evidence Based Nursing, ebnurs-2024-104135.
Ward‐Stockham, K., Daniel, C., Bujalka, H., Jarden, R. J., Yap, C. Y. L., Cochrane, L., & Gerdtz, M. F. (2024). Implementation and use of the Safewards model in healthcare services: A scoping review. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 33(5), 1242–1271.
Ward‐Stockham, K., Kapp, S., Jarden, R., Gerdtz, M., & Daniel, C. (2022). Effect of Safewards on reducing conflict and containment and the experiences of staff and consumers: A mixed‐methods systematic review. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 31(1), 199–221.
Correction to Effect of Safewards on reducing conflict and containment and the experiences of staff and consumers: A mixed‐methods systematic review. (2024). International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 33(1), 213–214.
Yap, C. Y. L., Daniel, C., Cheng, L., Oliffe, J. L., & Gerdtz, M. (2024). Safewards in acute medical/surgical care wards: Capability, Opportunity, Motivation and Behaviour model and Theoretical Domains Framework analysis. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 153, 104719.
Yates, N. J., & Lathlean, J. (2022). Exploring factors that influence success when introducing “The Safewards Model” to an acute adolescent ward: A qualitative study of staff perceptions. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 35(3), 218–229.