Nurses work motivation caring for an immigrant population: A qualitative historical analysis

Abstract

Aim: Qualitative Phenomenological analysis of nurses' experience working with immigrants, exploring the dimension of work motivation.

Background: Nurses' professional motivation and job satisfaction affects quality of care, work performance, burnout and resilience. The challenge of maintaining professional motivation is reinforced when providing care to refugees and new immigrants. In recent years, a large number of refugees sought sanctuary in Europe, resulting in the formation of refugee camps and asylum centers. Medical staff - including nurses - are involved in patient-caregiver encounter treating multicultural immigrant/refugee population.

Design and methodology: A qualitative Phenomenological Methodology was employed. In-depth semi structured interviews and archival research were both used.

Results: Study population - 93 certified nurses working between the years 1934-2014. Thematic and text analysis was employed. Four main motivation themes emerged from the interviews: duty, mission, perception of devotion and the general responsibility to bridge the cultural gap for the immigrant patients.

Conclusion: The findings emphasize the importance of understanding nurses' motivations in working with immigrants.

Keywords: Immigrants; Migrants; Motivation; Nurses; Nursing.