Date of Conferral
2-17-2025
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Psychology
Advisor
Reba Glidewell
Abstract
With mental health concerns on the rise in the United States and around the world, there has been a call for non-traditional avenues for the treatment of patients with mental health needs. Existing research indicates that in the current post-pandemic era, urgent care clinic providers have begun playing a pivotal role in the treatment of patients with mental health concerns. However, there is a lack of research currently available on the lived experiences of urgent care clinic providers treating of patients with mental health concerns. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of urgent care clinic providers in treating of patients with mental health concerns. Biopsychosocial theory was utilized to analyze the data gathered from providers concerning their experiences of providing mental health care. Purposive sampling and snowball sampling were avenues for the recruitment of participants. This study utilized the Giorgi five-step method to analyze the data collected from the semistructured interviews. The results of these analyses indicated significant concerns with the mental health resources available in the urgent care clinics, gaps in provider competency, capacity, and qualification in the treatment of patients with mental health concerns, continuity of care, referral barriers, and significant systematic barriers to comprehensive treatment. Urgent care clinic administrators, urgent care clinic providers, and health care providers may benefit from the results of this study by improving the training that is provided before beginning work in an urgent care clinic, providing better support to the urgent care clinic providers, and improving follow-up on patient care.
Recommended Citation
Hodges, Teresa L., "A Qualitative Exploration of Urgent Care Clinic Providers’ Experiences with Patients with Mental Health Concerns" (2025). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 17373.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/17373
