Eva Ericson-Lidman

Longitudinal relationships between stress of conscience and concepts of importance

The aim of this observational longitudinal cohort study was to describe relationships over time between degrees of stress of conscience, perceptions of conscience, burnout scores and assessments of person-centred climate and social support among healthcare personnel working in municipal care of older people. This study was performed among registered nurses and nurse assistants (n = 488). Data were collected on two occasions. Results show that perceiving one’s conscience as a burden, having feelings of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and noticing disturbing conflicts between co-workers were positively associated with stress of conscience. No significant changes were observed during the year under study, but degrees of stress of conscience and burnout scores were higher than in previous studies, suggesting that downsizing and increased workloads can negatively affect healthcare personnel. Following and expressing one’s conscience in one’s work, and perceiving social support from superiors are of importance in buffering the effects of stress of conscience.

Dealing with troubled conscience in municipal care of older people

Troubled conscience may jeopardize the health of healthcare personnel and, hence, the quality of care provided. Learning more about how personnel deal with their troubled conscience therefore seems important. The aim of this study was to describe personnel’s experiences of how they deal with troubled conscience generated in their daily work in municipal care of older people. Interviews were conducted with 20 care providers and analysed with a thematic content analysis. The findings show that in order to deal with troubled conscience, personnel dialogued with themselves and with others. They took measures in a direction they perceived to be correct, and they expressed a need for distancing and re-energizing. It is of importance to share situations that generate troubled conscience in order to find ways to deal with them. Reconsidering one’s ways of dealing with troubled conscience may give care providers an opportunity to reach consensus within themselves.

Revalidation of the Perceptions of Conscience Questionnaire (PCQ) and the Stress of Conscience Questionnaire (SCQ)

The Perceptions of Conscience Questionnaire (PCQ) and the Stress of Conscience Questionnaire (SCQ) have previously been developed and validated within the ‘Stress of Conscience Study’. The aim was to revalidate these two questionnaires, including two additional, theoretically and empirically significant items, on a sample of healthcare personnel working in direct contact with patients. The sample consisted of 503 healthcare personnel. To test variation and distribution among the answers, descriptive statistics, item analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to examine the underlying factor structure of the questionnaires. Support for adding the new item to the PCQ was found. No support was found for adding the new item to the SCQ. Both questionnaires can be regarded as valid for Swedish settings but can be improved by rephrasing some of the PCQ items and by adding items about private life to the SCQ.

Learning to deal constructively with troubled conscience related to care providers' perceptions of deficient teamwork in residential care of older people – a participatory action research study

Conscience can be perceived as an asset that helps care providers to provide good care, but it can also be a burden that generates stress of conscience (stress related to a troubled conscience). Participatory action research (PAR) has been shown to be successful in supporting care providers in residential care of older people to learn to deal with their troubled conscience in challenging and demanding care situations. The aim of the study was to describe an intervention process to assist care providers in residential care of older people to constructively deal with their troubled conscience related to perceptions of deficient teamwork. The study design was grounded in PAR. Nine enrolled nurses (ENs), two nursing aids (NAs), one Registered Nurse (RN) and their manager participated in 12 PAR sessions. All sessions were tape-recorded, and a domain analysis of the transcriptions was performed. Findings show that a PAR-based intervention can support care providers to understand, handle and take measures against deficient teamwork. Using troubled conscience as a driving force can increase the opportunities to improve quality of care in residential care for older people. During the PAR process, participants raised their awareness of the need to view the team in a wider sense and that the manager and the Registered Nurse should also be members of the team to improve team outcome. To improve clinical practice, we suggest that teams in residential care of older people should be enabled to share and reflect on challenging situations that generate troubled conscience. However, as shown in this study, care providers might need support in order to facilitate and promote sharing and reflecting on what their conscience tells them.

A comparison of assessments and relationships of stress of conscience, perceptions of conscience, burnout and social support between healthcare personnel working at two different organizations for care of older people

AIM The aim of this cross-sectional, descriptive study was to compare assessments and relationships of stress of conscience, perceptions of conscience, burnout and social support between healthcare personnel (HCP) working in two different organisations for care of older people. METHODS This cross-sectional, descriptive comparative study was performed among Registered Nurses and nurse assistants working in two different organisations (n(1) = 98, n(2) = 488) for residential care of older people. The organisations were chosen to be as different as possible, and data were collected using four different questionnaires. Hierarchical cluster analysis with multiscale bootstrap resampling was used to compare the associations between all items in the questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, 95% confidence intervals, chi-squared tests, Cohens d, Cramers V and the φ coefficient were all used to judge differences between the organisations. RESULTS The associations between stress of conscience, perceiving ones conscience as a burden, and burnout were similar in both organisations. Perceiving ones conscience as far too strict and having a troubled conscience from being unable to live up to ones standards were associated with stress of conscience and burnout in one organisation. Women had higher levels of stress of conscience and reported lower social support from co-workers compared with men. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that associations between perceptions of conscience, stress of conscience and burnout are common experiences that are similar among HCP despite great differences in the characteristics of organisations. It can be burdensome for HCP to be unable to realise their ambitions to provide good care, and sex/gender can be an important factor to consider in the development of measures against the negative effects of stress of conscience. More studies are needed about how HCPs ambition to provide good care and sex/gender are related to perceptions of conscience, stress of conscience and burnout.

Learning to Deal Constructively With Troubled Conscience Related to Care Providers’ Perceptions of Not Providing Sufficient Activities for Residents

The aim of this study was to illuminate an intervention process to assist care providers in municipal care of older people to constructively deal with their troubled conscience generated from their perceived shortcomings about not providing sufficient activities for residents. The study design was grounded in participatory action research. Twelve care providers and their manager participated in intervention sessions. Content analysis was used to analyze the transcriptions. By sharing their experiences with each other, care providers became aware of, and confirmed in one another, what types of activities were meaningful for residents and actions were taken to provide such activities. The importance of being attentive and relying on residents’ responses, that is, providing person-centered activities, was found to be satisfying to residents and eased the care providers’ troubled conscience. An enlightened conscience can be an important asset, which may prevent ill-health and improve quality of care.

Care providers learning to deal with troubled conscience through participatory action research

The aim of this study was to identify a process to assist care providers in dealing constructively with their troubled conscience generated by a difficult situation in elderly care relating to spitting behaviour. Our idea was, with help from participatory action research (PAR), that sharing and reflecting with others upon the voice of conscience, may support care providers to find ways to deal constructively with troubled conscience. Care providers in municipal elderly care participated in intervention sessions over one year, and with support from PAR, they were able to learn to ease the burden of a troubled conscience. They dealt with their troubled conscience constructively by sharing their thoughts and feelings, and gaining more knowledge about behavioural symptoms. They were trying to take relevant measures when caring for the resident, and perceiving the behaviour as unintentional. In this study PAR contributes with increased understanding of the necessity to listen to one’s conscience and of the possibility of using conscience as a driving force, to develop clinical practice. This contribution of PAR may in the long run increase quality of care and work-related health.

Clear conscience grounded in relations: Expressions of Persian-speaking nurses in Sweden

Background: Conscience is an important concept in ethics, having various meanings in different cultures. Because a growing number of healthcare professionals are of immigrant background, particularly within the care of older people, demanding multiple ethical positions, it is important to explore the meaning of conscience among care providers within different cultural contexts. Research objective: The study aimed to illuminate the meaning of conscience by enrolled nurses with an Iranian background working in residential care for Persian-speaking people with dementia. Research design: A phenomenological hermeneutical method guided the study. Participants and research context: A total of 10 enrolled nurses with Iranian background, aged 33–46 years, participated in the study. All worked full time in residential care settings for Persian-speaking people with dementia in a large city, in Sweden. Ethical considerations: The study was approved by the Regional Ethical Review Board for ethical vetting of research involving humans. Participants were given verbal and written study information and assured that their participation was voluntary and confidential. Findings: Three themes were constructed including perception of conscience, clear conscience grounded in relations and striving to keep a clear conscience. The conscience was perceived as an inner guide grounded in feelings, which is dynamic and subject to changes throughout life. Having a clear conscience meant being able to form a bond with others, to respect them and to get their confirmation that one does well. To have a clear conscience demanded listening to the voice of the conscience. The enrolled nurses strived to keep their conscience clear by being generous in helping others, accomplishing daily tasks well and behaving nicely in the hope of being treated the same way one day. Conclusion: Cultural frameworks and the context of practice needed to be considered in interpreting the meaning of conscience and clear conscience.

Being closely connected to health care providers experiencing burnout: putting one's life on hold to help.

Being closely connected to a person experiencing illness may be a trying experience.This study aimed to illuminate meanings of being closely connected to health care providers experiencing burnout. Ten interviews were conducted with five people closely connected (i.e., family members or supportive friends) to health care providers recovering from burnout. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and the resulting text was interpreted using a phenomenological-hermeneutic method. One consequence of being closely connected to health care providers experiencing burnout is putting one’s life on hold to help. In facing an almost unmanageable burden, those closely connected revealed their own suffering, emphasizing their need for support. Health care professionals need to be aware that those who are closely connected to a person experiencing burnout may lack knowledge about burnout and its related challenges. It is to be hoped such knowledge would allow significant others to better support the person experiencing burnout and promote their own health.

Meanings of troubled conscience and how to deal with it: expressions of Persian-speaking enrolled nurses in Sweden

INTRODUCTION A feature of the healthcare system in Sweden, particularly in the care of older people, is its cultural diversity in terms of having considerable numbers of both caregivers and care recipients with an immigrant background. Considering the influence of culture in ethical decision-making processes, the idea of conscience and the adverse effects of a troubled conscience, it is important to study the concepts of conscience and troubled conscience in culturally diverse populations. There is no published study regarding troubled conscience among immigrant populations that includes enrolled nurses. AIM To illuminate the meanings of troubled conscience and how to deal with it among enrolled nurses with Iranian backgrounds working in Swedish residential care for Persian-speaking people with dementia who have emigrated from Iran. METHOD The study was conducted with a phenomenological hermeneutic design. Ten enrolled nurses with an Iranian background, with at least one years experience of taking care of older people with dementia, were interviewed. The study was reviewed by the Regional Ethical Review Board for ethical vetting of research involving humans. Appropriate measures were taken to ensure confidentiality and voluntary participation. RESULTS The meanings of having a troubled conscience for the participants comprise not being a good person, including being an uncaring person, not acting according to ones values and living in a state of unease. Dealing with a troubled conscience involves trying to compensate for the harm one has caused and trying to prevent similar situations by being a responsible caregiver. CONCLUSIONS The enrolled nurses understood themselves as caring people and not only caregivers. They knew that they should hear their conscience and respond to it by trying to be a caring person and acting according to their values. The findings should be interpreted in the given specific context.