An investigation into Stress and Coaching-needs in the National Health Service and UK Hospices

This thesis explores the issues around stress in the UK Health Service, with a particular focus on stress in the Hospice Service and the benefits of a group coaching intervention for this staff group. Section A provides an introduction to the thesis, explaining the rationale behind the choice of research and how the different sections link together. Section B reports on the research aspects of this thesis which exists of three phases. Phase 1 is a cross-sectional study to assess the levels of stress and the main work-stressors as experienced by members of staff working within two hospices in the UK. Phase 2 is a qualitative study using two focus groups, one at each hospice, to obtain a deeper understanding of the findings of phase 1. Phase 3 is an evaluation of a brief group coaching intervention for stress management, which has been informed by the findings of phase 1 and 2. The theoretical framework of the coaching intervention was Cognitive Behavioural Coaching (CBC). Section C of the thesis presents a case study of a one-to-one stress-coaching intervention. This study also uses CBC as its theoretical framework and uses the same coaching format as was used in the group coaching session described in section B. Using the same model for both the group and one-to-one coaching intervention provides an opportunity to explore the versatility and usefulness of CBC within the context of stress coaching. The critical literature review presented in section D of the thesis examines the effectiveness of traditional stress management programmes used within the nursing profession, which provides a base-line for the development of an effective coaching intervention. The findings of this thesis add to the current understanding of stress in the UK hospice service and provide the foundations of a new approach to staff support and stress management within the Health Service using a CBC coaching model.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

City University London

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Hackett, Addy

• BF Psychology
• RA Public aspects of medicine