THRIVE aims to understand Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)-registered nurses’ experiences of working in care homes for older people during the COVID-19 pandemic, how this impacted on resilience, mental health and wellbeing, and to collaboratively develop theory-informed approaches for ongoing and future support in this professional group.
The lead for this study is Dr Diane Bunn, Lecturer in Health Sciences at UEA.
The Report from Phase 2, written collaboratively with care home nurses, makes six recommendations to support care home nurses to recover from, and plan for future major events. These were: (i) develop formal, bespoke mental health and wellbeing strategies for nurses working in care homes; (ii) regular debriefing sessions; (iii) support for emotional support networks; (iv) improved communication from external agencies to care homes, as well as within care homes; (v) providing training and career development opportunities for the whole care-home workforce; (vi) improved planning for future pandemics and major unplanned events.
Phase 1: Key-informant interviews with NMC-registered nurses practising in care homes to describe and understand their distinct experiences of working during COVID-19 and its impact on their resilience, mental health and wellbeing, including the availability and appropriateness of support. For detailed information about the study, please read our Information Sheet. Recruitment for Phase 1 was completed July 2021, and we are currently analysing the interviews. When the findings are available, we will post them on this page.
Phase 2: During the Autumn of 2021 we asked NMC-registered nurses who work in care homes to take part in on-line workshops to talk about, and plan, strategies and interventions that support care-home nurses’ resilience, mental health and wellbeing. The information sheet and short video below provides more information about this phase of the study.
Key Research Questions
1. For NMC-registered nurses working in care homes for older people during the COVID-19 pandemic, how has this experience impacted positively or negatively on resilience, mental health and wellbeing, what kinds of support were available, and did this change over time?
2. Does collaborative working facilitate the development of targeted strategies to support long-term resilience and wellbeing in NMC-registered care home nurses?
The study was funded by the Burdett Trust for Nursing and concluded early 2022. We will publish our findings and provide details on the webpage when they are available.
Page last updated: 10 May 2022