Abstract:

Background and Aim:
Nurses’ well-being is an increasing concern given global workforce shortages, stressful job roles and the sustained impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mobile application-delivered interventions (apps) may be an efficient and cost-effective approach to improving mental wellbeing in nurses, but work is needed to ascertain appropriateness of this approach and identify best methods for implementation.

Method:
This was a proof-of-concept study designed to explore nurses’ (end-users’) understanding of a commercially developed mobile app (MyArkeo) to inform its use in a future trial. Methods included a workforce public consultation activity, involving individual face-to-face trainer-led education (related to the purpose of the application, target audience and its use), followed by exploratory qualitative interviews with all participants. Nurses working in the UK were recruited through social media posts and engaged in semi-structured interviews exploring their views towards the value and implementation of the app, which was designed to improve mental wellbeing through monitoring aspects of physical and mental health. Data were analysed thematically.

Results:
Six registered nurses from diverse nursing specialties (all female, aged between 28-60 years), received brief education with app familiarisation, and were interviewed. The concept of monitoring both physical and mental health aspects together was deemed to be valuable, relevant, and comprehensive. Concerns were raised regarding lack of technological familiarity, which may hinder engagement with the app. Participants recommended the use of reminder push notifications to maximise app engagement.

Conclusion:
Nurses perceived the mobile app to be a valuable monitoring tool for improving mental wellbeing in nurses. Interview data revealed that future implementation should be augmented by the delivery of brief education to end-users relating to the use of the technology, to minimise technological barriers to use. This app was deemed appropriate for moving forwards to feasibility testing with the nursing workforce, in a randomised trial.

Keywords:

Nurses, mental health, workplace, mobile application, education, qualitative, proof-of-concept.