Background: Children with medical complexity (CMC) dependent on invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) often require private duty home nursing; however, there are ubiquitous shortages. Home health is an especially vulnerable nursing sector because of less competitive wages and less prominence during nursing education. We sought to understand nurses' perspectives on gaps and opportunities for recruiting home care nurses for children with IMV.
Methods: Home health nurses experienced with children with IMV were recruited for semi-structured interviews. The interview guide served as the initial codebook which was iteratively modified as themes emerged. This study presents an analysis of quotes related to field entry and home health experiences.
Findings: Twenty interviews were completed with primarily female (95%) participants. The majority worked full-time (60%) and had an average of 11 years of experience. During nursing education, participants described a lack of exposure to private duty home health nursing. Many entered the field serendipitously, because of a passion for care of CMC or to continue care for a hospitalized patient. Challenges to employment included lack of competitive wages and benefits. Nurses remained in the field because of the rewarding work with patients and families, schedule flexibility, slower pace, and one-on-one care.
Discussion: Home health nurses for IMV describe lack of employment benefits. However, the opportunity to work longitudinally and individually with patients was rewarding.
Application to practice: Creative solutions must be explored to recruit and sustain this essential workforce, including exposure during nursing education, improved training and benefits, and targeted recruiting.
Keywords: Children with mechanical ventilation; Children with medical complexity; Home health; Home health nursing; Nursing education.
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