“We try our best to offer them the little that we can” coping strategies of Ghanaian community psychiatric nurses: a qualitative descriptive study
Abstract Introduction Community psychiatric nurses work in extremely stressful environments with intense patient relationships as they try to prevent self-harm and manage aggressive behaviors. In order to improve their ability to manage the stressful work environments, community psychiatric nurses n...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2020-06-01
|
| Series: | BMC Nursing |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12912-020-00449-3 |
| _version_ | 1819230624449298432 |
|---|---|
| author | Frederick Yaw Opare Patience Aniteye Agani Afaya Nathaniel Glover-Meni |
| author_facet | Frederick Yaw Opare Patience Aniteye Agani Afaya Nathaniel Glover-Meni |
| author_sort | Frederick Yaw Opare |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Introduction Community psychiatric nurses work in extremely stressful environments with intense patient relationships as they try to prevent self-harm and manage aggressive behaviors. In order to improve their ability to manage the stressful work environments, community psychiatric nurses need to incorporate formal coping strategies into their daily work routines. With evidence-based coping strategies, community psychiatric nurses can effectively manage the stressful situations in their work environment to increase their work longevity. The purpose of this study was to explore the individual coping strategies currently used by community psychiatric nurses in practice in order to develop an intervention strategy for future implementation. Methods This was an exploratory qualitative study using an interpretative approach. A purposive sampling method was used to identify participants from the community psychiatric nurses in a region of Ghana. Participants were recruited and interviewed, guided by semi-structured questions, until saturation was reached. The interviews were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically. Results A total of 13 participants, 10 women and 3 men ages 26 to 60 years, were interviewed for this study. From the inductive analysis, four coping themes emerged from the data including: 1) self-disguise, 2) reliance on religious faith, 3) self-motivation, and 4) reduction in the number of home visits. The participants described their work environment as stressful, almost to the point of overwhelming. In this regard, they identified the individual coping strategies as critical daily practices for self care to manage their high stress levels. Conclusion Individual coping strategies are often used by community psychiatric nurses in daily practice. The participants identified personal coping strategies as critical interventions to manage stress and to decrease their risk for burnout. However, community psychiatric nurses must develop. personal-mastery in various coping strategies to care for themselves, as well as motivate them despite the challenging working environment. The individual coping strategies adopted by community psychiatric nurses was not only helped them deliver care, but also protected their clients so people would not label them as ‘mental patients.’ Collectively, the four strategies reported in this study need to be developed into a cohesive and comprehensive intervention. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T11:32:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fbf1227752eb435b8c7c0f9a916de370 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6955 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T11:32:02Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Nursing |
| spelling | doaj.art-fbf1227752eb435b8c7c0f9a916de3702022-12-21T17:48:46ZengBMCBMC Nursing1472-69552020-06-011911810.1186/s12912-020-00449-3“We try our best to offer them the little that we can” coping strategies of Ghanaian community psychiatric nurses: a qualitative descriptive studyFrederick Yaw Opare0Patience Aniteye1Agani Afaya2Nathaniel Glover-Meni3Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Health and Allied SciencesDepartment of Community Health Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of GhanaDepartment of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Health and Allied SciencesDepartment of General and Liberal Studies, University of Health and Allied SciencesAbstract Introduction Community psychiatric nurses work in extremely stressful environments with intense patient relationships as they try to prevent self-harm and manage aggressive behaviors. In order to improve their ability to manage the stressful work environments, community psychiatric nurses need to incorporate formal coping strategies into their daily work routines. With evidence-based coping strategies, community psychiatric nurses can effectively manage the stressful situations in their work environment to increase their work longevity. The purpose of this study was to explore the individual coping strategies currently used by community psychiatric nurses in practice in order to develop an intervention strategy for future implementation. Methods This was an exploratory qualitative study using an interpretative approach. A purposive sampling method was used to identify participants from the community psychiatric nurses in a region of Ghana. Participants were recruited and interviewed, guided by semi-structured questions, until saturation was reached. The interviews were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically. Results A total of 13 participants, 10 women and 3 men ages 26 to 60 years, were interviewed for this study. From the inductive analysis, four coping themes emerged from the data including: 1) self-disguise, 2) reliance on religious faith, 3) self-motivation, and 4) reduction in the number of home visits. The participants described their work environment as stressful, almost to the point of overwhelming. In this regard, they identified the individual coping strategies as critical daily practices for self care to manage their high stress levels. Conclusion Individual coping strategies are often used by community psychiatric nurses in daily practice. The participants identified personal coping strategies as critical interventions to manage stress and to decrease their risk for burnout. However, community psychiatric nurses must develop. personal-mastery in various coping strategies to care for themselves, as well as motivate them despite the challenging working environment. The individual coping strategies adopted by community psychiatric nurses was not only helped them deliver care, but also protected their clients so people would not label them as ‘mental patients.’ Collectively, the four strategies reported in this study need to be developed into a cohesive and comprehensive intervention.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12912-020-00449-3Community healthPsychiatricNursingCopingStressReligion |
| spellingShingle | Frederick Yaw Opare Patience Aniteye Agani Afaya Nathaniel Glover-Meni “We try our best to offer them the little that we can” coping strategies of Ghanaian community psychiatric nurses: a qualitative descriptive study BMC Nursing Community health Psychiatric Nursing Coping Stress Religion |
| title | “We try our best to offer them the little that we can” coping strategies of Ghanaian community psychiatric nurses: a qualitative descriptive study |
| title_full | “We try our best to offer them the little that we can” coping strategies of Ghanaian community psychiatric nurses: a qualitative descriptive study |
| title_fullStr | “We try our best to offer them the little that we can” coping strategies of Ghanaian community psychiatric nurses: a qualitative descriptive study |
| title_full_unstemmed | “We try our best to offer them the little that we can” coping strategies of Ghanaian community psychiatric nurses: a qualitative descriptive study |
| title_short | “We try our best to offer them the little that we can” coping strategies of Ghanaian community psychiatric nurses: a qualitative descriptive study |
| title_sort | we try our best to offer them the little that we can coping strategies of ghanaian community psychiatric nurses a qualitative descriptive study |
| topic | Community health Psychiatric Nursing Coping Stress Religion |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12912-020-00449-3 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT frederickyawopare wetryourbesttoofferthemthelittlethatwecancopingstrategiesofghanaiancommunitypsychiatricnursesaqualitativedescriptivestudy AT patienceaniteye wetryourbesttoofferthemthelittlethatwecancopingstrategiesofghanaiancommunitypsychiatricnursesaqualitativedescriptivestudy AT aganiafaya wetryourbesttoofferthemthelittlethatwecancopingstrategiesofghanaiancommunitypsychiatricnursesaqualitativedescriptivestudy AT nathanielglovermeni wetryourbesttoofferthemthelittlethatwecancopingstrategiesofghanaiancommunitypsychiatricnursesaqualitativedescriptivestudy |