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

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Occupational Health
• Psychology

Background:

• Understanding intensive care nurse work well-being is crucial for effective workplace interventions.
• Current knowledge regarding intensive care nurse work well-being is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify intensive care nurses' conceptions of work well-being.
• To determine if the concept of 'work well-being' is prototypically organized among these nurses.

Main Methods:

• Three linked studies were conducted with 65 New Zealand intensive care nurses.
• Study one involved free-text responses on key features of work well-being.
• Studies two and three used ratings to assess the prototypical organization of these features.

Main Results:

• Frequently endorsed elements included workload, job satisfaction, and support.
• Key aspects rated highly were feeling valued, respect, support, work-life balance, and workplace culture.
• Workload and work-life balance were identified as central characteristics, positively correlated with endorsement frequency.

Conclusions:

• Unique conceptions of intensive care nurse work well-being were identified.
• Workload and work-life balance emerged as central elements.
• Feeling valued, respected, and supported were considered the most important aspects of work well-being.