Mental health nurses' self-care at work, Searching for Equilibrium: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

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dc.contributor.authorO'Malley, Mariaen
dc.contributor.authorHappell, Brendaen
dc.contributor.authorO'Mahony, Jamesen
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-14T08:58:44Z
dc.date.available2023-06-14T08:58:44Z
dc.date.issued45055en
dc.description.abstractThe nursing workforce plays a central role in quality health care delivery. Nursing work is associated with high levels of stress due to often unmanageable workloads. The associated attrition poses a serious challenge for recruitment and retention strategies. Self-care is recognised as a tactic for addressing workplace stressors, shaping a sense of cohesion where the world is viewed as comprehensible, meaningful, and manageable, thereby mitigating the risk of burnout. Yet research suggests it is not widely utilised by nurses. The aim of this study was to understand mental health nurses’ lived experience of self-care at work. The research was undertaken using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methodology. In-depth individual interviews explored nurses’ attitudes to self-care and how they did or did not adopt self-care practices in the workplace. Data were analysed thematically. The Search for Equilibrium, was identified as the superordinate theme, developed from three subordinate themes, The past self: “tormented and spent”, the intricacy of self-care, and the trusted inner circle: “safe and supported”. These findings highlight the complexity of self-care and the importance of considering it as much broader than purely an intra-personal phenomenon, emphasising the importance of relationships and interpersonal connections. Time past, present, and future influenced how participants made sense of their workplace experiences. These findings provide a deeper understanding of self-care in response to workplace stress and could assist in developing strategies to promote self-care for nurses, and ultimately positively enhance recruitment.en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationO’Malley, M., Happell, B. and O’Mahony, J. (2023) 'Mental health nurses’ self-care at work, Searching for Equilibrium: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 44(5), pp. 425-436. doi: 10.1080/01612840.2023.2205509en
dc.identifier.doi10.1080/01612840.2023.2205509en
dc.identifier.eissn1096-4673en
dc.identifier.endpage436en
dc.identifier.issn0161-2840en
dc.identifier.issued5en
dc.identifier.journaltitleIssues in Mental Health Nursingen
dc.identifier.startpage425en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/14573
dc.identifier.volume44en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherTaylor and Francisen
dc.rights© 2023, Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis on 9 May 2023 in Issues in Mental Health Nursing, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840.2023.2205509. It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.en
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/en
dc.subjectSelf-careen
dc.subjectStressen
dc.subjectNursingen
dc.subjectInterpretative Phenomenological Analysisen
dc.titleMental health nurses' self-care at work, Searching for Equilibrium: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysisen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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