NU4057 Recovery – Working with Vulnerable Populations Assignment Brief 2026

NU4057 Assignment Brief

Forensics Adam is a 52-year-old gentleman, with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, polysubstance misuse, and antisocial personality traits. He has a longstanding forensic history of burglary, trespassing, and possession of a knife. He has served prison sentences for these issues. He has recently been transferred to a forensic mental health setting from his local psychiatric hospital because of a need for specialist treatment in conditions of therapeutic security, not available in his locality. This is his 8th admission in the last 10 years. He has had therapeutic trials of several antipsychotic medications, including Risperidone, Haloperidol, Olanzapine, and Clozapine. He has had two trials of Clozapine but stopped due to non-compliance and once stopped following development of neutropenia. There is ongoing formal thought disorder and marked affect instability. Delusional beliefs are mostly of a persecutory and grandiose nature, and he is often observed laughing inappropriately. His affect is relatively unstable, and his mood can be elated with disinhibited and behaviours that challenge. These are commonly co-occurring with physical illness but no triggers have been identified. Adam behaves in an intimidating manner at times, verbally threatening other service users, but usually responds well to de-escalation strategies from the nursing staff. Adam’s insight into his mental health challenges is limited. This is consistently being addressed with little improvement. Additionally, there is little to no insight into the seriousness and impact of his repeated episodes of aggressive behaviour. Adam requires a high level of support from staff to complete all activities of daily living, especially with regards to his personal hygiene. He requires significant prompting to attend to same. He does not willingly or consistently engage in physical activity and requires a lot of prompting in this area. His engagement in exercise appears to be variable and mood-dependent. Music plays a significant role in his life, particularly Irish ballads, pop, and rock genres. He derives immense pleasure from attending music sessions on the ward. Critically discuss the risk factors the mental health nurse should consider in the above scenario while promoting Adam’s recovery as a “vulnerable individual”. Consider dimensions of risk (risk to self, risk to others, risk from others) that the mental health nurse should incorporate into their risk assessment, and the factors to be considered in developing a risk formulation and risk management/safety plan for Adam.

Guidelines for Students

Essay Length 3,000 words
Marks: 200
Submission: Assignments should be submitted via Canvas by Friday 13th November, 2026 (no later than 12pm)

Please refer to the Examinations and Continuous Assessments section under ‘Current Students’ on the Nursing and Midwifery website for guidance to requirements for Academic Writing and submission of assignments.