Globally, addiction to "ICE" (crystal methamphetamine) is increasing and presents emergency health care services personnel with a number of challenges. This paper reports the first of two major themes arising from a qualitative study investigating health professionals’ experiences’ managing people presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) after taking "ICE." The theme "Caring for people who use ‘ICE’ when presenting to EDs" comprises five subthemes. These are: (a) expecting the unexpected: "they’re just off their heads"; (b) complexity of care: "underlying trauma and emotional dysregulation"; (c) connecting and relationships: "engaging in a calm and helpful way"; (d) coordinating care and teamwork: "keeping them quiet and away from everybody" and (e) learning and reflection: "we need to rethink our treatment options." These findings highlight the complexity and resourceintensity associated with providing emergency care to persons affected by ICE, and the need for thoughtful strategies that can further develop the capacity and capability of health professionals to provide optimal care to people using ICE.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	health professionals, emergency department, crystal methamphetamine (“ICE”)
Research Division:	Health Sciences
Research Group:	Health services and systems
Research Field:	Mental health services
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Public health (excl. specific population health)
Objective Field:	Mental health
UTAS Author:	Cleary, M (Professor Michelle Cleary)
UTAS Author:	Kornhaber, R (Dr Rachel Kornhaber)
UTAS Author:	Sayers, J (Dr Jan Sayers)
ID Code:	113662
Year Published:	2017
Web of Science® Times Cited:	9
Deposited By:	Health Sciences
Deposited On:	2017-01-12
Last Modified:	2018-09-25
Downloads:	0