Exploring psychological safety as a component of facilitation through the lens of pain management practices with older people.

Research output: Contribution to conferenceAbstractpeer-review

Abstract

Exploring psychological safety as a component of facilitation through the lens of pain management practices with older people.

Aims and objectives. To implement and evaluate a programme of development that enabled the nursing team to critically analyse practice and integrate evidence into practice and explore the factors in the practice context that inhibit the effective use of evidence in practice.

Background. The challenge and complexity of changing healthcare practices for enhanced patient care is the focus of much attention. Facilitation is emerging as an important approach to assist nursing teams to explore their practice, if they are to improve the care. Within the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework, facilitation is a key element of operationalising collaborative changes in practice. This paper uses the framework to explore holistic facilitation and the concept of psychological safety in enhancing pain management practices with older people.

Design. An Emancipatory Action Research approach was used.

Methods. Individual and group facilitated critical reflection was undertaken with the nursing team working in a surgical unit that conducted complex abdominal surgery. Eighty-five percent (n = 48) of nursing staff participated in the two-year project. Two episodes of non-participant observation of nursing practice were also conducted (46 hours in total). Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results. Holistic facilitative leadership can be used to create psychologically safe spaces to cultivate a climate in which individuals and groups feel safe to engage with the challenge of exploring their practice. This in turn can enable the nursing team to more effectively use evidence-based practice and undertake appropriate actions to enhance person-centred pain management practices with older people.

Conclusions. Arguably, the additional element of psychological safety needs to be incorporated into facilitation models, in particular the PARIHS framework, to more accurately reflect the complexities of working with practitioners in practice
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 8 Sept 2016
EventInternational Practice Development Conference - Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Duration: 8 Sept 201610 Sept 2016

Conference

ConferenceInternational Practice Development Conference
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityEdinburgh
Period8/09/1610/09/16

Keywords

  • Psychological safety
  • pain
  • Facilitation

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