Abstract:
Nurses, as the majority of the mental health workforce have a valuable contribution to
make at a policy development level. The 1998 report from the Ministerial Taskforce
on Nursing supports this statement but also indicates that there is a general reluctance
by nurses to participate in policy development. For nurses to have control over their
practice they need to have input into policy development.
Nurses having control over their practice has been linked to nursing empowerment.
Therefore the question explored in this research project is: What can nurse leaders do
to encourage an empowering environment for nurses working in the mental health
area? The literature reviewed for this project includes empowerment, power, the
history of nursing in relation to women's role in society, oppression and resistance,
and literature on Critical Social Theory as the underlying theoretical and philosophical
position which informs the research process.
In order to answer the research question a single focus group was used to gather data
from a group of registered nurses practising in mental health. Focus groups as a data
collection method produce data and insights that would be less accessible without the
interaction found in the group. The key themes to emerge from the data analysis were;
power is an important component of empowerment and power relationships; and at a
systems level, professional, organisational, and political influences impact on feelings
of empowerment and/or disempowerment. These key themes are discussed in relation
to the literature and the broader social and cultural context of the mental health care
environment. The contribution this research makes to nursing includes a list of
recommendations for nurse leaders who aim to provide an empowering environment
for nurses practising in mental health.
