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Graduation Term
Summer 2025
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Mennonite College of Nursing
Committee Chair
Cherrill Stockmann
Committee Member
Denise Hammer
Committee Member
Theresa Adelman-Mullally
Committee Member
Maureen Rabbitte
Abstract
This dissertation comprises three manuscripts intended for publication, each exploring acute care pediatric nurses’ well-being while caring for chronically or critically ill patients. The first manuscript presents a literature review on current research regarding the well-being of acute care pediatric nurses who care for chronically or critically ill pediatric patients. The review highlights that the frequent medical interventions required to treat chronically or critically ill children may have the ability to influence pediatric nurses’ well-being by causing increased stress, burnout, and exhaustion. This review concludes with the importance of acute care pediatric nurse well-being and the implications for nurses, patients, patient and family satisfaction, clinical outcomes, and organizational performance.
The second manuscript offers a concept analysis of well-being in acute care pediatric nurses who care for chronically or critically ill children. Utilizing the concept analysis method by Walker and Avant, this analysis goes step-by-step in detailing attributes, antecedents, consequences, empirical referents, and model cases. This analysis concludes with highlighting that promoting acute care pediatric nurse well-being has many benefits, including reduced organizational turnover and medication errors, and improved patient outcomes.
The third manuscript reports on an exploratory descriptive qualitative study investigating acute care pediatric nurses’ experiences while caring for chronically or critically ill patients. Guided by the Factors Affecting Clinician Well-Being and Resilience Conceptual Model, the study utilized this framework as it was developed to improve clinician well-being, alleviate fatigue, moral distress, and suffering, which may derive from provider burnout. Themes such as multidimensional health, work-life balance, and work environment were all found as contributing to acute care pediatric nurse well-being.
Access Type
Dissertation-ISU Access Only
Recommended Citation
Peterson, Kate M., "Exploring the Well-being of Acute Care Pediatric Nurses Who Care for Chronically or Critically Ill Patients" (2025). Theses and Dissertations. 2208.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/2208
DOI
https://doi.org/10.30707/ETD.1763755358.470337