A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of a Peer Group Intervention to Promote Wellbeing in Mental Health Nurses

The work mental health nurses undertake is widely acknowledged as being challenging. Stressors encountered in the workplace can negatively impact nurses' psychological wellbeing and contribute to issues with retaining nurses in the profession. There is limited interventional research that focuses on external factors that foster nurse wellbeing. This study aimed to evaluate a peer group intervention to promote nurse wellbeing. A longitudinal mixed-methods study with an equal status concurrent design was undertaken. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected via semi-structured interviews and surveys across three timepoints, baseline, mid-intervention, and post-intervention. Qualitative data were collected to explore interviewees' experiences of participating in the intervention, and quantitative data were obtained to assess for any measurable effect on wellbeing outcomes. Fifteen peer group participants completed semi-structured interviews. There were n = 28 responses to the baseline survey, n = 27 returned the mid-intervention survey, and n = 25 responded to the post-intervention survey. Qualitative data analysis identified four main themes: Attending Peer Group, Participating in Peer Group, Impact on the Individual, and Unrelated Workplace Change. Wellbeing scores were found to be significantly modified by the number of peer group sessions attended for depression (p = 0.006), stress (p = 0.004), and emotional exhaustion (p = 0.02) By the post-intervention survey, more favourable scores were significantly associated with higher attendance levels for all three measures. Integration of the qualitative findings and quantitative results demonstrated potential benefits of peer groups for nurse wellbeing. Given that greater exposure to the intervention was associated with better outcomes, facilitating attendance is essential to realise the benefits of peer groups.