Managing maternal and child health nurses undertaking family violence work in Australia: A qualitative study

To explore the experience of nurse managers managing maternal and child health nurses undertaking family violence work in Victoria, Australia.

Health care practitioners' ability to address violence against women is strengthened by health service systems that include effective staff management and leadership. Maternal and child health nurses work with women experiencing abuse; however, their support by the health system and their managers has not been examined.

Semi-structured interviews with 12 nurse managers in 2019-2020 explored how they supervised and managed nurses. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

We identified three themes-(a) managing the service: being resourceful; (b) supporting nurses' emotional safety; and (c) hitting the ground running: the demands on the manager.

Inadequate support for nurse managers undermines workplace well-being and role satisfaction, impacting the safety and supervision of nurses doing family violence work.

An integrated family violence systems approach must include improved training and support for nurse managers to enable reflective practice and ensure effective support for nurses working with women experiencing abuse.