Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing

Reviewed by Yvonne Creighton, Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, Middle Tennessee State University on 6/5/26

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This textbook covers all the areas of concern for psychiatric mental health nursing that are common to psychiatric textbooks for undergraduate students. It contains an index at the end of the book with links to the appropriate section of the book. There are also key terms at the end of each chapter.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The content of the textbook itself appears to be unbiased. Some of the links go to articles that may have a commercial interest. For example, the "Link to Learning" in chapter 18.3 takes the reader to registerednursing.org, a commercial website. Most of the content appears to be accurate and error-free There is a broken link in chapter 19.1 Substance Use Disorders. The "DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for the diagnosis of substance use disorders" link within "Link to Learning" is broken.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The content is up to date as of the publication date of 2024. Articles and links should be updated to reflect content no older than 5 years - 2021 as of this review in 2026.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is easy to read and is comparable to other mental health nursing textbooks. The text contains medical terminology common to the nursing profession. Each chapter contains a list of key terms and definitions.

Consistency rating: 5

The text appears to have a consistent framework. Each chapter is organized in a similar manner, including Introduction, Content, Summary, Key Terms, Assessments, References.

Modularity rating: 4

The introduction, content sections (e.g. 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, etc.), summary, key terms, and assessments in each chapters are separate pages that can be navigated to using "previous" and "next buttons" at the bottom of each page. Within each content section, the reading sections are separated into smaller sub sections. The text includes graphics, tables, and information in boxes (learning objectives, clinical safety and procedures, clinical judgment measurement model, links to learning, case studies, real RN stories, psychosocial considerations, cultural context) which help to break up the material and can be assigned individually. Regarding photos/graphics/images: There is a photograph at the beginning of each chapter. The same photograph is used at the beginning of multiple chapters. I recommend using a different photograph at the start of each chapter. There are also very few graphics after the first one-third of the text. I recommend using more photos/graphics/images to make the text more appealing to readers.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics are presented in a clear, organized manner. The topics flow from general (theories, setting, relationships) to specific DSM-5-TR diagnoses.

Interface rating: 5

The text is crisp, using a sans serif font, which is appropriate for use on digital screens. There does not appear to be any distortion of images or other types of displays.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text appears to be free of grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is culturally sensitive and relevant. Almost every chapter includes a section on psychiatric disorders as seen within the context of a person's culture. The authors stress how each culture has its own unique attitudes and beliefs toward mental health that affect how people view mental illness.

This is a comprehensive open educational resource (OER) textbook that more than adequately covers the essential topics in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. It was a pleasure to review this text. I would recommend it as a primary text for undergraduate Mental Health Nursing courses.