@phdthesis{01KVN642Q9H98CZ318KKEH8K8X,
  abstract     = {{What if some of the most meaningful changes in mental health care are also the most difficult to capture?

This dissertation explores how nurse–patient relationships contribute to recovery in psychiatric hospitals and how these outcomes can be measured in a scientifically robust yet person-centred way.

Central to this work is the development of the Mental Health Nurse-Sensitive Patient Outcome Scale (MH-NURSE-POS), known in Flanders as the Relationele en Interpersoonlijke Verpleegsensitieve Uitkomsten Schaal (RiVUS). Drawing on psychometric research, multicentre studies, and a systematic review, this dissertation demonstrates that the MH-NURSE-POS/RiVUS is a reliable and valid scale for assessing nurse-sensitive patient outcomes linked with interpersonal mental health nursing care.

Rather than reducing nursing to numbers, the MH-NURSE-POS/RiVUS is presented as a tool for understanding, reflecting on, and making visible the meaningful changes that can emerge through nurse–patient relationships. Ultimately, this work highlights the value of interpersonal mental health nursing and its role in supporting recovery.

Karel Desmet, RN, MSc, PhD, is a mental health nurse. He obtained his PhD from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, University Centre for Nursing and Midwifery. His research began with a deceptively simple idea: some of the most important outcomes of the nurse-patient relationship are also the hardest to measure.}},
  author       = {{Desmet, Karel}},
  isbn         = {{9789090426532}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{283}},
  publisher    = {{Ghent University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences}},
  school       = {{Ghent University}},
  title        = {{Nurse-sensitive patient outcomes of psychiatric and/or mental health nursing in psychiatric hospitals : focus on the nurse-patient relationship}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}