This study is a qualitative investigation into the experiences of assessing mental health issues by members of staff from two hospices in the UK. Nine individual interviews were held with doctors and nurses from the two hospices using semi-structured interviews. The research method used was grounded theory and the emerging data were analysed using the computer software Atlas.ti. The analysis was conducted around the four main research questions: 'How is mental health assessed in the hospices?', 'What are the staff members' feelings about doing these assessments?', 'How does assessment information inform clinical practice?' and 'What are the perceived training needs of staff?' The findings show that mental health is, to some extent, being assessed within these two hospices; however, no formal assessment strategy is in place. The majority of staff interviewed had very limited experience and/or training in the field of mental health and expressed a lack of confidence when dealing with mental health-related issues. A list of training needs has been identified. On the basis of these findings, recommendations have been made to improve the assessment procedures currently used within these two hospices.

Disagreement exists as to whether the work of palliative care nurses is more stressful than the work of other nurses, and research into the specific stressors facing hospice workers is limited. This article presents the results of phase 1 of a study investigating the levels of stress in two UK hospices and the possible coaching needs of staff working in these services. Phase 1 is a cross-sectional study that assessed the levels of stress and main work stressors experienced by staff working in the two hospices. The study used three measures: the DASS-21 (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale), the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Management Standards Indicator Tool and a demographic questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses were used to investigate whether the seven HSE stressors, and two demographic factors 'place of work' and 'years of work in palliative care', were significant predictors of levels of depression, anxiety, stress and negative affect, as measured by the DASS-21. The results highlight a number of HSE stressors in need of improvement; however, the overall scores on the DASS-21 subscales indicate that this staff group does not experience more than average strain. Change was a significant predictor of depression, and demand a significant predictor of stress. Both change and demand were significant predictors of negative affect.

This article reports on the findings of phase two of a study into stress and coaching needs in two hospices in the United Kingdom. Phase one was a cross-sectional study to assess the levels of stress and the main stressors as experienced by members of staff working within these two hospices. Phase two of the study uses qualitative methodology with the purpose of obtaining a deeper understanding of the stressors as experienced by hospice staff. Two focus groups were held, one at each hospice, and the data were analysed using grounded theory as its theoretical framework. A further aim of the current study was to identify coaching needs among this staff group in order to develop a tailor-made coaching programme for this service.

Stress has been identified as the second highest cause of sickness absence in the NHS. Hospice staff could be particularly at risk of experiencing stress, as working with patients with terminal illnesses threatens the sense of omnipotence and brings a repeated need to deal with feelings of loss and grief. Disagreement exists as to whether the work of palliative care nurses is more stressful than the work of other nurses and the literature on specific palliative care stressors is sparse. This research aims to obtain a better understanding of the overall levels of stress and the causes of stress amongst this staff group. A further aim is to run a brief stress-coaching intervention in two hospices and evaluate its suitability and effectiveness for this service using an evaluation questionnaire. This paper presents a review of the literature and an outline of the proposed methodology for this study.