Managing well-being in paediatric critical care: a multiperspective qualitative study of nurses’ and allied health professionals’ experiences
Objectives: It is well evidenced that healthcare professionals working in paediatric critical care experience high levels of burn-out, compassion fatigue and moral distress. This worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. This work examines the nature of challenges to workplace well-being and explores w...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMJ Publishing Group
2024
|
| _version_ | 1811139535753445376 |
|---|---|
| author | Yeter, E Bhamra, H Butcher, I Morrison, R Donnelly, P Shaw, R |
| author_facet | Yeter, E Bhamra, H Butcher, I Morrison, R Donnelly, P Shaw, R |
| author_sort | Yeter, E |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Objectives: It is well evidenced that healthcare professionals working in paediatric critical care experience high levels of burn-out, compassion fatigue and moral distress. This worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. This work examines the nature of challenges to workplace well-being and explores what well-being means to staff. This evidence will inform the development of staff interventions to improve and maintain staff well-being. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: Paediatric critical care units in the UK. Participants: 30 nurses and allied health professionals took part in online interviews and were asked about well-being and challenges to well-being. Lived experiences of well-being were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Themes generated were as follows: perception of self and identity; relationships and team morale; importance of control and balance and consequences of COVID-19. They focused on the impact of poor well-being on participants’ sense of self; the significance of how or whether they feel able to relate well with their team and senior colleagues; the challenges associated with switching off, feeling unable to separate work from home life and the idealised goal of being able to do just that; and lessons learnt from working through the pandemic, in particular associated with redeployment to adult intensive care. Conclusions: Our findings align closely with the self-determination theory which stipulates autonomy, belonging and competence are required for well-being. Participants’ accounts supported existing literature demonstrating the importance of empowering individuals to become self-aware, to be skilled in self-reflection and to be proactive in managing one’s own well-being. Change at the individual and staff group level may be possible with relatively low-intensity intervention, but significant change requires systemic shifts towards the genuine prioritisation of staff well-being as a prerequisite for high-quality patient care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:07:38Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:b5429027-db3d-444a-bfa0-bbcf39a861f6 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:07:38Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:b5429027-db3d-444a-bfa0-bbcf39a861f62024-05-31T20:12:35ZManaging well-being in paediatric critical care: a multiperspective qualitative study of nurses’ and allied health professionals’ experiencesJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:b5429027-db3d-444a-bfa0-bbcf39a861f6EnglishJisc Publications RouterBMJ Publishing Group2024Yeter, EBhamra, HButcher, IMorrison, RDonnelly, PShaw, RObjectives: It is well evidenced that healthcare professionals working in paediatric critical care experience high levels of burn-out, compassion fatigue and moral distress. This worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. This work examines the nature of challenges to workplace well-being and explores what well-being means to staff. This evidence will inform the development of staff interventions to improve and maintain staff well-being. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: Paediatric critical care units in the UK. Participants: 30 nurses and allied health professionals took part in online interviews and were asked about well-being and challenges to well-being. Lived experiences of well-being were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Themes generated were as follows: perception of self and identity; relationships and team morale; importance of control and balance and consequences of COVID-19. They focused on the impact of poor well-being on participants’ sense of self; the significance of how or whether they feel able to relate well with their team and senior colleagues; the challenges associated with switching off, feeling unable to separate work from home life and the idealised goal of being able to do just that; and lessons learnt from working through the pandemic, in particular associated with redeployment to adult intensive care. Conclusions: Our findings align closely with the self-determination theory which stipulates autonomy, belonging and competence are required for well-being. Participants’ accounts supported existing literature demonstrating the importance of empowering individuals to become self-aware, to be skilled in self-reflection and to be proactive in managing one’s own well-being. Change at the individual and staff group level may be possible with relatively low-intensity intervention, but significant change requires systemic shifts towards the genuine prioritisation of staff well-being as a prerequisite for high-quality patient care. |
| spellingShingle | Yeter, E Bhamra, H Butcher, I Morrison, R Donnelly, P Shaw, R Managing well-being in paediatric critical care: a multiperspective qualitative study of nurses’ and allied health professionals’ experiences |
| title | Managing well-being in paediatric critical care: a multiperspective qualitative study of nurses’ and allied health professionals’ experiences |
| title_full | Managing well-being in paediatric critical care: a multiperspective qualitative study of nurses’ and allied health professionals’ experiences |
| title_fullStr | Managing well-being in paediatric critical care: a multiperspective qualitative study of nurses’ and allied health professionals’ experiences |
| title_full_unstemmed | Managing well-being in paediatric critical care: a multiperspective qualitative study of nurses’ and allied health professionals’ experiences |
| title_short | Managing well-being in paediatric critical care: a multiperspective qualitative study of nurses’ and allied health professionals’ experiences |
| title_sort | managing well being in paediatric critical care a multiperspective qualitative study of nurses and allied health professionals experiences |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yetere managingwellbeinginpaediatriccriticalcareamultiperspectivequalitativestudyofnursesandalliedhealthprofessionalsexperiences AT bhamrah managingwellbeinginpaediatriccriticalcareamultiperspectivequalitativestudyofnursesandalliedhealthprofessionalsexperiences AT butcheri managingwellbeinginpaediatriccriticalcareamultiperspectivequalitativestudyofnursesandalliedhealthprofessionalsexperiences AT morrisonr managingwellbeinginpaediatriccriticalcareamultiperspectivequalitativestudyofnursesandalliedhealthprofessionalsexperiences AT donnellyp managingwellbeinginpaediatriccriticalcareamultiperspectivequalitativestudyofnursesandalliedhealthprofessionalsexperiences AT shawr managingwellbeinginpaediatriccriticalcareamultiperspectivequalitativestudyofnursesandalliedhealthprofessionalsexperiences |