What are the relationships between personal experience of mental health problems and subjective well being in UK mental health nurses?
ABSTRACT
This report presents a summary of the progress made in this PhD research during the year 2014/15 when it was funded by the Florence Nightingale Foundation. During this period I have been conducting the final analysis and writing up of the research.
Background: Recent surveys of NHS staff have found that healthcare workers experience high levels of mental ill health and distress, and that they access and require health services differently to the general population(Department of Health, 2010, Harvey et al, 2009).This has led to calls for increased investment in and focus on supporting the mental wellbeing of health care workers from both practitioners, NICE and the government.
Rationale: There is a need for research evidence to identify how nurses may improve and maintain their mental health. One way of addressing this is through an exploratory study looking at how nurses with mental health histories maintain their well being and resilience. This study aimed to explore how mental health nurses’ personal mental health histories relate to their well being.
Methods: The research comprised two phases. In the first phase questionnaires were sent to mental health nurses via the Royal College of Nursing Mental Health Forum and the Mental Heath Nurses Association of Unite the Union. The survey used three measures of subjective wellbeing, questions about personal and familial mental health history and questions about work. 237 survey responses were included in the final statistical analysis.
In the second phase 27 semi structured interviews were undertaken with a purposive sample of respondent to the survey. They were all mental health nurses who had both scored highly on the subjective wellbeing scales and had personal or familial experience of mental illness. Interview participants were asked about their experience of mental illness, their subjective wellbeing and work. Transcripts were coded to identify themes.
Outcomes: This study found UK mental health nurses to have lower subjective wellbeing and higher likelihood of mental illness than comparable populations. The nurses had various means of looking after their wellbeing and of using their personal experience in work. The impact of mental health work on personal mental health and vice versa was complex and fluid.
The majority of research on mental health nurses’ mental health has focused on stress and burnout. This study offers some insight into the possible positive impact that personal experience may have and into how some nurses maintain their well being in challenging circumstances. Implications for recruitment, education, practice, and occupational health are considered.