Staff Experiences of Media Representations of Paediatric Palliative Care: Implications for Wellbeing and Career Longevity

This study examined representations of paediatric palliative care (PPC) available in the UK media. Furthermore, the study explored PPC nurses’ experiences of these representations, with consideration of the impact of these on wellbeing and career longevity.

With research from the fields of media and cultural studies and medical sociology informing its theoretical basis, the study demonstrated how popularly held constructions of healthcare services and staff are influenced by media representations and come to shape the lived experiences of healthcare workers.

Furthermore, in drawing upon Social Representations Theory (Moscovici, 1988), the study proposed an explanation for how PPC is perceived and understood by the public. Moreover, the study offered a novel insight into the impact of media representations of PPC on nurses, an area which previously has not been explored in this way.

Utilising Critical Realist Discourse Analysis a review of representations of PPC available in the UK media was completed. Here, findings indicated PPC was often represented as controversial and hospice-based. Furthermore, media representations tended to position nurses in polarising ways (e.g. as “angels” or “baby-killers”). In addition, semi-structured interviews were used to explore nurses’ experiences of media representations with a focus on the impact of these on wellbeing and career longevity. Data from the interviews was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Three superordinate themes were developed; ‘PPC: A Contentious Approach’, ‘The “Threat” of the Media’ and ‘Not the Whole Story: One-sided media representations’. In all themes nurses described the impact of media representations upon clinical practice. However, impact on wellbeing and career longevity were not identified.
Findings from the study are discussed in relation to existing literature and psychological theory, and consideration was given to the implications for clinical psychologists working in PPC and physical healthcare settings generally.

Recommendations for future research are also given.