Exploring resilience in nurses caring for older persons

Abstract

Background: A shortage of nurses is experienced in aged care as these nurses experience adverse working conditions. Resilience might empower these nurses to survive, thrive and even flourish. A paucity of research exists regarding resilience in nurses caring for older persons. Objectives: The purpose of this research was to investigate the level of resilience in nurses caring for older persons, and to explore and describe their strengths and coping abilities, in order to formulate recommendations to strengthen resilience in nurses caring for older persons. Method: An explorative, descriptive design with multiple phases was used. An all-inclusive sample of nurses caring for older persons in an urban setting in the North West Province was used. During phase one (sample size n=43) the level of resilience, demographic information and narratives were obtained. During phase two (sample size n=17) focus group interviews were conducted. The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and the qualitative data using content analysis. Results: The participants had a moderately high to high level of resilience. Participants did experience adverse working circumstances and they needed resilience due to a need for balance, the emotional nature of the work, work ethics and the work environment. Nurses caring for older persons use personal, professional, contextual and spiritual strengths to handle adverse working conditions. Conclusion: Recommendations to strengthen resilience in nurses caring for older persons were formulated in phase three of the research, focusing on strengthening nurses‟ personal, professional, contextual and spiritual strengths in order that they can handle adverse workplace conditions.