Investigating professional quality of life in nursing staff working in Adolescent Psychiatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs)
| Date | 14 January 2019 |
| Pages | 59-71 |
| Published date | 14 January 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-04-2018-0023 |
| Author | Celeste Foster |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Mental health education |
Investigating professional quality of life in
nursing staff working in Adolescent
Psychiatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs)
Celeste Foster
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to investigate professional quality of life of mental health nursingstaff
working within an adolescent psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) setting. Professional quality of life is
important, as there is a correlation between staff wellbeing and the quality of healthcare services delivered,
particularly within mental health settings. Mental health nursing staff in adolescent PICU services deal with a
wide range of physically and emotionally demanding challenges when providing care, yet the potential impact
of this demanding work upon staff in this context has not been explored.
Design/methodology/approach –The study used a longitudinal non-experimentaldesign with a purposive
sample. Quantitative data were collected from a total of 17 registered mental health nurses and healthcare
assistants (HCAs) working in an adolescent PICU in the North of England. Repeated measures
were administered at three consecutive intervals, three months apart, using a validated self-report measure,
the Professional Quality of Life Scale V (ProQOL V, Stamm, 2010). Data were analysed using descriptive and
inferential statistical analysis using benchmark data from the ProQOL V instrument for comparison.
Findings –Analysis of results compared to ProQOL V benchmark data showed significantly higher than
expectedlevels of compassion satisfaction,and lower than expectedlevels of burnout and secondarytraumatic
stress for adolescent PICU nursing staff within the study. There were no significant differences between
qualified nursesand HCAs. Potential explanations andpractice implications of these findings are discussed.
Originality/value –This is the first published study to investigate professional quality of life within the mental
health nursing population working in adolescent PICU, providing empirical insights into a previously
unexplored mental health context.
Keywords Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Adolescent, Mental health
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Adolescent psychiatric intensive care units (PICUs) are a small and highly specialised component
of the portfolio of child and adolescent mental health service delivery in the UK. Adolescent PICU
services are usually mixed gender, “secure”inpatient environments for the short-term
containment and treatment of young people detained under the Mental Health Act (1983). Young
people detained in PICUs typically display symptoms and behaviours associated with a serious
risk of either suicide, absconding with a significant threat to safety, aggression or vulnerability
(NHS England, 2016). An environment in which multi-disciplinary care and treatment can be
delivered safely is created through high levels of physical, relational and procedural security, for
which nursing staff often carry the burden of responsibility. Physical, procedural and relational
security are interrelated concepts that together create a form of therapeutic security, essential for
both the maintenance of safety and the promotion of recovery (Tighe and Gudjonsson, 2012).
Physical security relates to both the design and maintenance of the environment and its fittings
(e.g. locks and alarms) and the staff resources required for the safe operation of them. Within this,
procedural security is created through implementation of the policies, procedures and systems
for maintaining patient safety, for example, patient observations and checks (Kennedy, 2002).
Received 17 April 2018
Revised 1 November 2018
Accepted 15 November 2018
Declaration of interests: unpaid
honorary contract (as above)
within the service in which the
research was carried out. This
work was supported by the
University of Salford (Vice
Chancellor Early Career Research
Scholarship Fund). The funding
source had no involvement in the
study design or implementation.
Celeste Foster is based at the
School of Nursing, Midwifery,
Social Work and Social
Sciences, University of Salford,
Greater Manchester, UK.
DOI 10.1108/JMHTEP-04-2018-0023 VOL. 14 NO. 1 2019, pp.59-71, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1755-6228
j
THE JOURNAL OF MENTALHEALTH TRAINING, EDUCATION AND PRACTICE
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