Developing a Core Outcome Set for capturing and measuring nurse wellbeing: a Delphi study

Abstract

Background Poor nurse wellbeing is a significant concern, adversely affecting patient care quality and satisfaction, contributing to poor job satisfaction, increased sickness absence and workforce retention issues. There are calls for evidence-based policies and interventions to address poor nurse wellbeing, but no consensus exists on how it should be captured and measured. We used a salutogenic and consensus approach to develop a core outcome set (COS) for capturing and measuring nurse wellbeing.

Methods A Delphi methodology was employed. Participants were recruited from two stakeholder groups: 1) nurse wellbeing professionals, identified through relevant publications, conference/meeting attendance lists, and peer recommendations, and 2) Registered Nurses, recruited via social media, professional nursing bodies, and practitioner networks. The stakeholder panel completed two rounds of an online Delphi survey, rating 43 previously identified wellbeing outcomes on a nine-point Likert Scale, from ‘not important’ to ‘critical’. Consensus was defined as >75% of stakeholders agreeing a wellbeing outcome was critical for inclusion in the COS.

Results Fifty-four stakeholders completed the first Delphi Round, and 45 participated in both rounds. Thirteen wellbeing outcomes met the a-priori threshold for inclusion in the COS: General Wellbeing, Health, Sleep, Positive Relationships, Personal Safety, Psychological Needs Satisfaction, Psychological Safety, Job Satisfaction, Morale, Life Work Balance, Compassion Satisfaction, Satisfaction with Patient Care, and Good Nursing Practice. The final COS was agreed by the stakeholder panel, without amendments.

Conclusion This study establishes a COS for capturing and measuring nurse wellbeing. Implementing this COS has the potential to enable consistent data collection and evidence synthesis needed to support the development of nurse wellbeing strategies, policies and interventions. Future research will focus on identifying valid and reliable measurement tools.

Trial Registration This study was prospectively registered with the COMET initiative www.comet-initiative.org (Registration: 2433)

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Identifiers

ORCID for Naomi Klepacz: orcid.org/0000-0001-7552-8000

ORCID for David S. Baldwin: orcid.org/0000-0003-3343-0907

ORCID for Gemma Simons: orcid.org/0000-0003-2454-5948

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