Intensive care nurse conceptions of well-being: a prototype analysis

Accurately conceptualizing intensive care nurse work well-being is fundamental for successful engagement with workplace well-being interventions. Little is currently known about intensive care nurse work well-being.

The study aimed to identify intensive care nurses' conceptions of work well-being and ascertain whether the term 'work well-being' is prototypically organized.

Three linked studies conceptualize intensive care nurse well-being. For study one, participants listed key features of work well-being as free-text responses. Study two measured whether there was prototypical organization of these responses. Study three sought to confirm the prototypical organization of the term 'work well-being' through narrative ratings.

A total of 82 New Zealand intensive care nurses were randomly allocated to the three studies; 65 participated. In study one (n = 23), the most frequently endorsed elements included: workload (n = 14), job satisfaction (n = 13) and support (n = 13). In study two (n = 25), the highest rated elements included: feeling valued, respect, support, work-life balance and workplace culture. Elements of support, work-life balance and workload were in the top five most frequently endorsed elements and were also rated in the top 12 most central. Overall, the ratings of centrality and number of endorsements were positively correlated (r = 0.35, P < 0.05). In study three (n = 17), nine participants selected the same rating across both narratives with no differentiation on the 11-point scale and were excluded from analysis. The mean score for the central narrative was 7.88 and for the peripheral narrative was 7.38. Confirmatory analyses did not reach statistical significance.

Unique conceptions of work well-being were identified. Workload and work-life balance were central characteristics. Feeling valued and experiencing respect and support were considered most important.

Intensive care nurse conceptions of work well-being are fundamental for future measures of work well-being and future interventional studies and initiatives.