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Dr. Smoyak is Distinguished Professor, Rutgers School of Nursing, and Senior Researcher, Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, New Brunswick, New Jersey; Dr. Swarbrick is Training Institute Director, Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey Wellness Institute, and Director of Practice Innovation and Wellness, Rutgers University Behavioral Healthcare, New Brunswick, New Jersey; Ms. Nowik is Communication and Administrative Assistant, Christ the King Parish, Concord, New Hampshire; Ms. Ancheta is Registered Nurse, Surgical Care Unit, Princeton, New Jersey; and Mr. Lombardo is Registered Nurse, Hematology/Oncology, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
The current authors have conducted exploratory sessions with consumers of mental health services interested in the topic of high energy drink (HED) use, with and without alcohol, and with and without prescribed drugs. The genesis of these sessions originated with the first author (S.A.S.) who has worked for decades with individuals in various stages of recovery from mental illness as a clinician in private practice and a faculty member at the Rutgers College of Nursing. Most of her clinical was work was performed in New Jersey or surrounding states, but sessions were also held with consumers of mental health services attending conferences in the United Kingdom.
The current article describes how a research instrument was developed to collect data on HED and the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of individuals with mental illness regarding HED use. The process to develop this instrument included consumers of mental health services in New Jersey, as well as e-mail suggestions from members of the U.K. Service User and Carer Group Advising on Research (SUGAR). The findings and analysis are presented, along with concerns and implications for future clinical practice and research.
Rationale for the Current Study
The first author (S.A.S.) presented a paper about HED at the Network for Psychiatric Nursing Researchers (NPNR) in Oxford, England several years ago. Members of SUGAR asked what was known about individuals with mental illness and their use of HED products. The answer was "I don't know," which generated considerable discussion in the group, and the outcome was that the advice given was to fix that deficit. The other outcome was that this group became the...