Tofthagen, who performed all interviews, gave participants
additional information, including information regarding ethical
principle. A total of 15 participants, 2 men and 13 women,
gave their written informed consent to participate in the
study. Of these, 12 were MHNs and three were RNs with
extensive work experience, included due to the small number
of MHNs. The participants had worked in acute psychiatric
care between 1 year and 14 years (mean 5.1 years). For the
purposes of this study, we hereafter only use the term MHN.
3.3. Data Collection. The method for data collection was
semistructured interviews, conducted during autumn 2010
and the spring of 2011. The semistructured interviews lasted
from 45 to 90 minutes. The interview started with an open
question regarding the participant’s experiences of caring
for self-harm patients. The interviews were conducted as
a dialogue, and the order of topics was tailored to each
individual participant. An interview guide was used during
the interviews and the following themes were included in
the dialogue between the participant and Randi Tofthagen:
MHNs’ experiences of caring for self-harm patients and the
patients’ expressions of self-harm, the use of force, what
inhibits or promotes self-harm patients’ coping abilities in
relation to self-harm, and how self-harm affects MHNs’
own feelings. Individual follow-up questions were asked
during the interviews to expand and deepen the participants’
spontaneous answers to the interview guide themes. The
interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim
into text (120 pages) by Randi Tofthagen.
3.4. Data Analysis. The method for data analysis was manifest
content analysis, followed by latent content analysis
inspired by Graneheim and Lundman [36, 37]. The inductive
manifest content analyses process in the actual study can be
described as a condensation-abstraction process consisting
of seven steps. When using inductive content analysis, categories
are created from raw data without a theory-based
categorization [38]. In the first step, the researchers read
and re-read the transcribed interview material to obtain an
overall understanding of the content of the interviews, that
is, participants’ experiences of caring for self-harm inpatients.