Experiences Of Staff Working Research Articles

Avian malaria affecting penguins in zoological gardens, aquariums and wildlife parks in the UK

Avian malaria has caused mortalities in captive penguins worldwide and it is a conservation threat for some wild penguins. The experience of staff working on penguins is highly valuable for the improvement of captivity conditions. An online questionnaire was designed to collect avian malaria information in penguins in the UK. Volunteers with diverse experience reviewed it for scientific value and clarity, and it was supported by the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Forty-two institutions were contacted by email, obtaining 27 complete and five partial responses. Eighteen institutions reported avian malaria in 38 suspected and 37 confirmed outbreaks in the past 20 years, mainly occurring in the summer and recent years. Proportional risk was higher in the south east region of England. Humboldt and African penguins were more commonly affected, and prevalence was mostly low or medium, but lethality was high. Different treatment protocols were reported with inconsistent outcomes. Penguins' susceptibility, their translocation across institutions, and the wide distribution of avian malaria make this disease a constant threat. Preventive and control measures are recommended, including testing for early diagnosis and treatment, avoiding prolonged stressful events in penguins, and monitoring and controlling mosquito vectors.

Critical care work during COVID-19: a qualitative study of staff experiences in the UK

ObjectiveTo understand National Health Service (NHS) staff experiences of working in critical care during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.DesignQualitative study using semistructured telephone interviews and...

"We are all a family" Staff Experiences of Working in Children's Blood and Cancer Centers in New Zealand-A Constructivist Grounded Theory.

Background: The purpose of this study is to explore staff experiences of working in a children's blood and cancer center in New Zealand, with a particular focus on how staff maintain resilience in their work and sustain working in this difficult area. Methods: Constructivist grounded theory (GT) methods were used to collect data using focus groups and individual interviews with all staff (nursing, medical, allied health, cleaning, and support staff) working in the area. Data were analyzed using constant comparative analysis, and data collection continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Results: The GT constructed in this study is being a work family, which includes three core categories: finding attachment, becoming a work family, and having an identity. Discussion: This study found that regardless of profession or discipline, all staff experience similar feelings about their work, and can develop and enhance their resilience by belonging to a "work family." Being socially connected to the work family was recognized as the most supportive intervention, and was identified as being of greater value than the traditional one-on-one support that is currently encouraged.

The sources of adversity in the delivery of mental healthcare in prisons

In 2006, the National Health Service commenced with assuming responsibility for the delivery and commissioning of mental healthcare services in prisons within the UK. Previous research has indicated that some prison environments may present challenges to the delivery of mental healthcare for prison populations. The present study aimed to explore the experiences of staff working in NHS offender health teams to identify the sources of adversity that frontline staff may encounter when providing mental healthcare in prison settings. The present study also aimed to identify working conditions that may be conducive in facilitating the delivery of mental healthcare in prison settings. Mental healthcare professionals (n = 10) who worked in NHS offender health teams took part in 1:1 semi-structured interviews that were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The thematic analysis of the dataset indicated three themes that presented sources of adversity for NHS offender health teams in their delivery of mental health care in prisons; which were 1) location of mental healthcare delivery 2) communication links with stakeholders and 3) prison policies, procedures and legislation. The results of this study have illustrated some of the work-related factors that require attention in order to further support frontline staff in their delivery of mental healthcare in prison settings.

Shining a light on the experiences of staff working with young homeless people: A grounded theory study

Young people experiencing homelessness represent one of the most vulnerable groups in society. Research which has considered staff experience, has highlighted the importance of the interaction between the workers and the homeless young people. Very few studies have considered the emotional impact of the support worker role in young people’s homeless services. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychological and practical coping skills staff employ to negotiate the demands of their roles, with a focus on how staff work to develop supportive relationships with young homeless people with complex trauma histories. Eleven staff (5 male, 6 female) participated in this research. All the participants were Support Workers employed by the same organisation, supporting youth experiencing homelessness across two urban areas of Wales. Participants engaged in semi-structured interviews exploring their experiences. Data was analysed adopting a Grounded Theory approach. Seven main concepts were identified in the analysis: the need to be “a certain kind of person”; the rewards and challenges of the role; the impact of the organisational context and culture; individual approaches to coping; possible adverse impacts of the role; enjoyment of the role; and personal growth. The interaction between these concepts was considered and conveyed via a proposed model. A theory of balance was developed within which a pivotal process was the fluctuation between feeling supported by the organisation and coping well and feeling unsupported and struggling to cope. It is hoped that the findings from this research will directly inform clinical practice regarding psychologically based interventions for staff in settings for young people experiencing homelessness and be a valuable contribution to the scarce research literature on services for young homeless people.

The use of mindfulness dialogue for life in substance use disorder treatment in the time of COVID-19

Effective communication is critical for therapeutic work with individuals, for the interdisciplinary team, and for leadership in a substance use disorder (SUD) treatment program. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, over a two-year period Thomas Jefferson University's Maternal Addiction Treatment, Education and Research (MATER) program, an SUD treatment program serving pregnant and parenting women living in an urban environment, implemented Mindfulness Dialogue for Life (MDfL) to deepen communication, encourage courageous conversations, bring more compassion to staff and patients, and improve trust among leadership. MDfL focuses on three stages—connecting, exploring, and discovering—and it uses mindfulness practices to enhance communication. Here we describe our efforts to implement MDfL on a virtual platform and how the COVID-19 pandemic affected staff's work experience, as identified during their MDfL sessions.

A quest for quality care: Exploration of a model of leadership relationships, work engagement, and patient outcomes

AimTo explore the effects of resonant leadership, leader exchange relationships and perceived organizational support on work engagement and patient outcomes.DesignA cross‐sectional survey design.MethodsData were collected in June and July 2016 from 252 nurses and clerical staff and institutional patient safety (falls rates) and patient satisfaction (Friends and Family Test) in New Zealand. Data were analysed with structural equation modelling (SEM).ResultsThe final model was an excellent fit to the data (χ2 (22, N = 252) = 39.048, p = 0.014). Resonant leadership was significantly and positively associated with relationships at work, perception of unit care quality (β = 0.28, p < 0.001), reduced falls rates (β = −0.14, p < 0.05) and better patient satisfaction (β = −0.41, p < 0.001). A direct effect of resonant leadership was demonstrated on patient satisfaction (β = 0.20, p < 0.01). Perceived organization support (β = 0.40, p < 0.001) and leader–member exchange (β = 0.46, p < 0.001) were confirmed antecedents of work engagement. Work engagement was confirmed as an antecedent of nurse perception of unit care quality (β = 0.21, p < 0.001). Where social exchanges exist, work engagement mediates these. Three further mediated paths bypassed work engagement altogether.ConclusionExisting literature investigating the drivers and impacts of work engagement predominantly focuses on staff outcomes rather than patient outcomes. The findings identify modifiable factors to improve staff experience, patient safety, and ultimately patient satisfaction. Resonant leadership, a relational style, is a core antecedent of quality care and positively associated with staff experience and patient outcomes.ImpactThis investigation into a real‐world problem for nurse leaders also confirmed that an organizational focus on work engagement is not always required. Resonant leadership improves staff work experience, patient safety, and patient satisfaction. Nurse leaders should measure, foster, and develop resonant leadership in practice.

A "Necessary Evil": Staff Perspectives of Soft Restraint Kit Use in a High-Security Hospital.

IntroductionForensic mental health nurses working at the forefront of services can intermittently face enduring and somewhat harrowing or stressful situations. Enclosed is an example of the use of mechanical restraints (Soft Restraint Kit) for a two month period. Staff experience of working under such circumstances is an under reported area.MethodsThe experience of nursing a patient under extreme conditions was captured through use of a qualitative study, using semi structured interviews with a purposive sample of (n = 10) staff nurses and nursing assistants in a high-security hospital.ResultsThematic analysis was undertaken generating four themes: sense of responsibility, aptitude, enablers/inhibitors, and consequence. Conclusions suggest that Soft Restraint Kits provide a useful method of containment, although prolonged use presents considerable challenges for staff. The importance of preparation and training cannot be underestimated and continued support and supervision are absolutely essential.

Working with individuals who have experienced homelessness: Stresses and successes

Purpose Staff who work with vulnerable people with multiple needs are known to experience high levels of stress and burnout, as well as high levels of job satisfaction. This paper aims to explore the experiences of staff working in a project with individuals experiencing long-term homelessness in Lincolnshire. Design/methodology/approach An evaluation of a project working with individuals experiencing long-term homelessness included a focus group set up to explore the experiences and well-being of front line staff and managers. One-to-one interviews with staff were also held to provide more in-depth data about the experiences of individual staff members. Findings Six key themes were identified from the discussions with participants. Decision latitude and the ability to follow service users on person-centred journeys over long periods were positive aspects of the work which were highly valued and seemed to contribute to high levels of job satisfaction. Things which also made a positive contribution were elements of support provided by the employer and a number of personal coping strategies. Themes identified which had a negative impact on well-being related to high workloads and to the multiple and competing demands from service users and other agencies. Originality/value Few studies of any kind have explored the experiences and well-being of staff working in the frontline of homelessness services. This small-scale qualitative study provides a number of suggestions for further research with this population. Findings cannot be generalised but match those of other recent studies which suggest high levels of stress but little evidence of burnout, and that carefully developed workplace support mechanisms play a key role in maintaining commitment to the role and preventing burnout.

The subjective experiences of liaison and diversion staff who encounter individuals with autism

Purpose Research suggests that individuals with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) are inconsistently supported throughout the criminal justice system (CJS) in the UK. Bradley (2009) recommended the introduction of criminal justice liaison and diversion (L&amp;D) teams to bridge the gap between the CJS and mental health services and provide a more consistent and improved quality of support for individuals with vulnerabilities, including those with autism. This study aims to explore the experiences of staff working in L&amp;D teams who encounter individuals with ASD. Design/methodology/approach Interviews were conducted with ten L&amp;D team members. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to gain insight into their lived experiences of working with autism in the CJS. Findings Interpretation of individual transcripts resulted in three super-ordinate themes: “feeling helpless and helpful in the system”, “transition to knowing” and “impact on self”. Each theme encapsulated a number of sub-themes depicting the limitations of services, difficult environments, making a difference, lack of understanding, developing understanding and the impact of these experiences on staff’s confidence, attitudes and well-being. Practical implications Criminal justice services are limited for people with autism. There is a lack of autism awareness by staff. Lack of awareness impacts staff attitudes and confidence. Training in autism should be provided to criminal justice staff. Originality/value This research highlights the limitations of services available for individuals with autism and the widespread lack of autism awareness. These concerns directly impacted participants’ confidence, attitudes and well-being. Recommendations are proposed to guide future practice and research including increasing availability of access to ASD services, enforcing mandatory autism-specific training for staff and routinely collecting service-user feedback.

Staff experiences of working in a Sexual Assault Referral Centre: the impacts and emotional tolls of working with traumatised people

ABSTRACTThis study considers the impacts on staff of supporting people who have reported sexual violence and attend a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC). This paper focuses on the staff’s perspectives of the stresses and emotional tolls they experience including the coping mechanisms they utilise. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 staff, and a focus group was held with a further four staff of a SARC. The data were examined using thematic analysis. Findings indicated that staff experienced positive emotions connected to the meaningfulness of the work and team spirit as well as a range of unpleasant emotions. Staff also reported emotional numbing, in connection to the specificity, volume and sometimes unpredictable nature of the work. Coping mechanisms used by staff focused on the supportive connection to family, nature, and other team members; the value of clinical supervision; and the avoidance of topics related to work.

Implementation of a neighbourhood care model in a Scottish integrated context—views from patients

There is a need to test new models of integrated health and social care, particularly due to increasing financial and epidemiological pressures on services. One critical component of testing new models is the acceptability to patients. Here, the aim was to understand the acceptability of a new model of care to patients by understanding their experience of being supported by a self-managing, community-based, integrated, health and social care team. The INCA service consisted of three support workers and three nurses in two teams. These teams were self-managing and had autonomy over service operations and care delivery. Eight interviews and satisfaction questionnaires were conducted with patients. Interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically. Patients found the service highly acceptable (mean overall satisfaction of 98%), self-reporting a variety of benefits to their wellbeing. Central to this acceptability was the autonomy of staff to adjust care frequency and duration to patients' needs, in addition to describing an active engagement and partnership within their support plans. Future work should aim to ascertain the experiences of staff working in this model and whether receiving support in this way improves clinical outcomes.

Exploring the experiences of staff working at an opiate assisted treatment clinic: An interpretive descriptive study

There have been many advances in harm reduction over the past three decades. One of the newest approaches is the provision of medical grade heroin to people with opiate addiction, known as opiate assisted treatment (OAT). There is one clinic in North America which provides this service. The goal of this study was to uncover how clinic staff provide care to those who attend this clinic, their perspectives on how the clinic program impacted them and their patients, and their opinions about the program itself. This was a qualitative study with an interpretive descriptive methodology underpinned by critical social theory. Convenience sampling yielded 22 participants – 18 nurses, two social workers and two peer support workers. Thematic analysis was undertaken to identify recurring, converging and contradictory patterns of interaction, key concepts and emerging themes. The study location was the OAT clinic located in the downtown eastside of Vancouver, BC. The findings were organized around the following six themes: from chaos to stability, it's not all roses, a little preparation would be good, putting the patient at the centre, the stigma hasn't gone away, and the clinic is life transforming. Taken together, these themes indicate the complexities of working in this environment. The findings can guide clinic staff, including nurses, in how they provide care to patients with addiction problems and also provide direction for policy makers on harm reduction planning. Contribution of the paperWhat is already known about the topic?•Opiate Assisted Treatment is an effective harm reduction approach to care and there is only one clinic offering this treatment approach in North America.•There is limited research on opiate assisted treatment clinics; research is primarily conducted in Europe.•Staff working in clinics that provide opiate assisted treatment are primarily concerned about overdoses and the diversion of heroin.What does this paper add?•Staff working in clinics that offer opiate assisted treatment engage in complex and challenging care, which is also very rewarding.•Patient outcomes in opiate assisted treatment clinics are positively impacted by the approach of staff.•This novel work establishes the importance of attending to the effects of educational preparation, power dynamics, and physical space on staff working at opiate assisted treatment clinics, for developing successful harm reduction programs.

Application of four-dimension criteria to assess rigour of qualitative research in emergency medicine

BackgroundThe main objective of this methodological manuscript was to illustrate the role of using qualitative research in emergency settings. We outline rigorous criteria applied to a qualitative study assessing perceptions and experiences of staff working in Australian emergency departments.MethodsWe used an integrated mixed-methodology framework to identify different perspectives and experiences of emergency department staff during the implementation of a time target government policy. The qualitative study comprised interviews from 119 participants across 16 hospitals. The interviews were conducted in 2015–2016 and the data were managed using NVivo version 11. We conducted the analysis in three stages, namely: conceptual framework, comparison and contrast and hypothesis development. We concluded with the implementation of the four-dimension criteria (credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability) to assess the robustness of the study,ResultsWe adapted four-dimension criteria to assess the rigour of a large-scale qualitative research in the emergency department context. The criteria comprised strategies such as building the research team; preparing data collection guidelines; defining and obtaining adequate participation; reaching data saturation and ensuring high levels of consistency and inter-coder agreement.ConclusionBased on the findings, the proposed framework satisfied the four-dimension criteria and generated potential qualitative research applications to emergency medicine research. We have added a methodological contribution to the ongoing debate about rigour in qualitative research which we hope will guide future studies in this topic in emergency care research. It also provided recommendations for conducting future mixed-methods studies. Future papers on this series will use the results from qualitative data and the empirical findings from longitudinal data linkage to further identify factors associated with ED performance; they will be reported separately.

Experiences of mental health nursing staff working with voice hearers in an acute setting: An interpretive phenomenological approach.

Introduction Mental health nursing (MHN) staff in acute settings work with voice hearers at times of crises when they experience high levels of distress. Previous research has focused on community mental health staff's experiences and their service users views on exploring the content of voices. No studies have explored this from an acute mental health service perspective. Aim This study therefore sought to explore the experiences of staff working with voice hearers in an acute mental health service. Method Due to the exploratory nature of the research, a qualitative design was chosen. Three MHNs and five healthcare support workers (HSWs) were interviewed. The data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results A group analysis elicited three master themes: "It's quite scary really, not unlike a horror movie;" "I can only influence what's in front of me;" and "Just chipping away". Discussion Staff working with voice hearers in acute settings experience feelings of powerlessness and helplessness, as they feel unable to reduce the distress experienced by voice hearers in their care. Staff employ coping strategies to help manage these difficult feelings, including using structured tools in their work with voice hearers and attending reflective practice forums. Implications for Practice Acute mental health services may need to protect time for staff to access regular reflective practice and other supervision forums to help manage their feelings of powerlessness and helplessness arising from their work with voice hearers.

Factors influencing technology and innovation capability in the Nigerian indigenous oil firms

This study investigated the factors influencing technology and innovation capabilities in Nigerian indigenous oil and gas firms. Primary data were collected through the use of questionnaire to elicit information from 150 indigenous oil firms. The result of the ordered logit regression showed that the extent of the firm's R&D captured by in-house R&D and R&D fund allocation were significant at 10% level of significance. Also, work experience of staff, qualification of staff and size of technical staff which captured human and knowledge capital of firm were significant in influencing the firms' technology capabilities. Acquisition of advanced machinery, firm's size and age and training were also significant in influencing technology capabilities of indigenous oil firms. The study suggests that both government and industry should ensure improvement in extensive training, R&D and education of the work force to enhance local capabilities in oil and gas field development.

Lived experience of working with female patients in a high-secure mental health setting.

Women's secure hospitals are often considered to be stressful and demanding places to work, with these environments characterized as challenging and violent. However, the staff experience of working in this environment is not well represented in the literature. The present study is the first to examine the 'lived experience' of seven nurses working in the National High Secure Healthcare Service for Women. Interview transcripts were analysed with the use of interpretative phenomenological analysis, and the findings presented within four superordinate themes 'horror', 'balancing acts', 'emotional hard labour', and 'the ward as a community'. These themes all depict the challenges that participants experience in their work, the ways in which they cope with these challenges, and how they make sense of these experiences. A meta-theme of 'making sense by understanding why' is also presented, which represents the importance for participants to attempt to make sense of the tensions and challenges by formulating a fuller meaning. The findings suggest the importance of workforce development in terms of allowing sufficient protected time for reflection and formulation (e.g. within the format of group supervision or reflective practice), and for staff-support mechanisms (e.g. clinical supervision, counselling, debriefs) to be inbuilt into the ethos of a service, so as to provide proactive support for staff 'on the frontline'.

Exploration in position setting of chief resident nurses in medical ICU

Objective To evaluate the clinical effect after position setting of chief resident nurses in medical intensive care unit (MICU) and summarize the existing problems of the position setting, so as to provide references for the improvement of related management system and the development of position. Methods The position of chief resident nurse was set up in MICU, and corresponding job responsibilities and management system were developed. The workload of chief resident nurses and nursing quality problems were collected, and the work experience of staff was conducted via face-to-face interviews. Results The chief resident nurses totally solved 647 important matters in 5 months, and most of them were problems related to nursing quality, which accounted for 84.4%. Quality control checks found that the problems related to nursing quality decreased month by month, with significant difference (χ2=99.72, P<0.001). And at the 4th month of this position-setting, the problems declined and maintained stable (<30/100 bed unit). Conclusions The operation of chief resident nurse position can make good use of advantages of resources to make up for the shortage of the department in order to improve the nursing quality while cultivating the nursing talents. Key words: Chief resident nurse; Nursing quality; Position setting; Talent cultivation

‘What’s the point?’: An investigation into the experiences of staff working with adults with autism spectrum disorders

The current study explores the challenges faced by support staff working with adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and highlights the need for clinical psychology staff involvement to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the available services for this population.

Reality of working in a community-based, recovery-oriented mental health rehabilitation unit: A pragmatic grounded theory analysis.

In the present study, we explored the experiences of staff working at a recovery-oriented, community-based residential mental health rehabilitation unit in Brisbane, Australia, called a 'community care unit' (CCU). A pragmatic approach to grounded theory was taken in the analysis of the transcripts of semistructured interviews with eight staff. Convenience sampling was used, and there was representation of junior and senior staff across nursing, allied health, and non-clinical support roles. Four key themes emerged from the analysis: (i) rehabilitation is different to treatment; (ii) the CCU is a positive transitional space; (iii) they (consumers) have to be ready to engage; and (iv) recovery is central to rehabilitation practice. Staff understandings of recovery in rehabilitation work were complex and included consideration of both personal and clinical recovery concepts. Rehabilitation readiness was considered important to the ability to deliver recovery-oriented care; however, the shared role of staff in maintaining engagement was acknowledged. Threats to recovery-oriented rehabilitation practice included staff burnout and external pressure to accept consumers who are not ready. The reality of working at a community-based recovery-oriented rehabilitation unit is complex. Active vigilance is needed to maintain a focus on recovery and rehabilitation. Leadership needs to focus on reducing burnout and in adapting these services to emergent needs.