Exploring Perceptions of the Work Environment among Psychiatric Nursing Staff in France: A Qualitative Study Using Hierarchical Clustering Methods

• Main Authors: Baptiste Cougot, Ghozlane Fleury-Bahi, Jules Gauvin, Anne Armant, Paolo Durando, Guglielmo Dini, Nicolas Gillet, Leila Moret, Dominique Tripodi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-12-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: qualitative; hierarchical; clustering; psychiatric; nurse; occupational; health; stress; perception; hospital
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/1/142

Most studies on workers’ health are based on non-specific models of occupational stress, thereby limiting the understanding and research on efficient interventions. This qualitative approach aimed to explore the structure of resources and constraints in the working environment of nurses in a deliberately open approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 37 nurses working in closed and open inpatient psychiatric wards in a French university hospital. The data were statistically analyzed using a hierarchical clustering method. Our model highlighted a systemic structure, describing the interactions, including patients, nurses, doctors, and managers in a specific material, communicational, and organizational environment. The results show a discursive structure organized around dimensions pertaining to “environment”, “patients”, “medical-care group”, and “the individual”. Our model showed interest in an interdisciplinary approach that encompasses occupational medicine and social psychology.