International journal of older people nursing
'Leading by Leveraging Situations': A Participant Observation Study Exploring How Registered Nurses Lead Close to Older Adults in Municipal Home Healthcare
By Stien T, Herulf Scholander L, Jonasson LL and 1 others.
Abstract
Background
Leadership plays a crucial role in the quality of care and patient safety, especially in the context of strained resources. Municipal home healthcare is facing challenges, for example, fewer care workers to meet increasing care needs. Registered nurses are key figures in municipal home healthcare, and they are leaders in the direct care of older adults. There is a lack of knowledge of how registered nurses lead close to older adults. The aim of this study was to explore how registered nurses lead close to older adults in municipal home healthcare.
Methods
Eight (n = 8) registered nurses participated in 50 h of participant observations. Meetings between registered nurses and older adults, and the time between these interactions, were observed to explore how the registered nurses lead close to older adults. Fieldnotes from observations and informal talks with the registered nurses were collected and analysed via reflexive thematic analysis.