A rapid review of evaluated interventions to inform the development of a resource to support the resilience of care home nurses

Abstract

Backgound Nurses working in care homes face significant challenges that are unique to that context. The importance of effective resilience building interventions as a strategy to enable recovery and growth in these times of uncertainty have been advocated. The aim of this rapid review was to inform the development of a resource to support the resilience of care home nurses. We explored existing empirical evidence as to the efficacy of resilience building interventions. undertaken with nurses. Methods We undertook a rapid review using quantitative studies published in peer reviewed journals that reported resilience scores using a valid and reliable scale before and after an intervention aimed at supporting nurse resilience. The databases; Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Medline and PsychInfo. and the Cochrane Library were searched. The searches were restricted to studies published between January 2011 and October 2021 in the English language. Only studies that reported using a validated tool to measure resilience before and after the interventions were included. Results Fifteen studies were included in this rapid review with over half of the studies taking place in the USA. No studies reported on an intervention to support resilience with care home nurses. The interventions focused primarily on hospital-based nurses in general and specialist contexts. The interventions varied in duration content and mode of delivery, with interventions incorporating mindfulness techniques, cognitive reframing and holistic approaches to building and sustaining resilience. Thirteen of the fifteen studies selected demonstrated an increase in resilience scores as measured by validated and reliable scales. Those studies incorporating ‘on the job,’ easily accessible practices that promote self-awareness and increase sense of control reported significant differences in pre and post intervention resilience scores. Conclusion Nurses continue to face significant challenges, their capacity to face these challenges can be nurtured through interventions focused on strengthening individual resources. The content, duration, and mode of delivery of interventions to support resilience should be tailored through co-design processes to ensure they are both meaningful and responsive to differing contexts and populations.

The Health Narratives Research Group (HeNReG): A self-direction process offered to help decrease burnout in public health nurse practitioners

“…The HeNReG has been presented as a narrative-supporting group that has the potential to help participants improve their self-direction while decreasing burnout. It compares favorably with other interventions [41] – [43] that have been designed to decrease burnout in nurse practitioners as is evident in Table 9 . Those studies compared are particular to public health practitioners that focused on reducing burnout in contrast to improving resilience, as improved resilience itself may not translate to burnout reduction [52] .…”

“…These are discussed in three separate references [41] – [43] . Five of these come from the reference associated with one citation [41] as this reference is a review of literature on resilience interventions in nurses. Regarding this reference [41] , in total, there are 15 studies included for review.…”

“…Seven resilience-developing programs are offered for comparison with the HeNReG. These are discussed in three separate references [41] – [43] . Five of these come from the reference associated with one citation [41] as this reference is a review of literature on resilience interventions in nurses.…”

“…Socially and professionally, changes have undermined this respect for nursing [36] . Thus, the most effective protection for nurses to reduce their stress is one that reestablishes clarity in being a nurse by developing public health nurse practitioners' self-direction, leading to burnout reduction [37] , [38] —something that goes beyond the ways to enhance resilience [39] , [40] that have been increasingly promoted [41] – [43] with respect to burnout in nurses.…”

Heart failure in nursing homes: A scoping review of educational interventions for optimising care provision

“…Ensuring sustainability of interventions and quality improvement projects in the nursing home setting have proved challenging ( Devi et al., 2022 , Rapaport et al., 2017 , Zhao et al., 2021 ). One reason for such challenges is the high rates of staff turnover ( Castle, 2006 , Castle and Engberg, 2005 , Gandhi et al., 2021 , Thomas et al., 2013 ), associated with low levels of staff resilience and wellbeing leading to burnout ( Mallon et al., 2023 ). High rates of staff turnover can also directly impact the implementation and sustainability of heart failure guidelines ( Nazir et al., 2015 ), with three of the studies included in this review citing staff turnover as a significant barrier ( Heckman et al., 2018b , Kim et al., 2016 , Sullivan, 2017 ).…”