UNDERSTANDING HOW ENGLISH-SPEAKING EXPATRIATE NURSES CARE FOR EMIRATIS WHO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN SUBSTANCE MISUSE: A HERMENEUTIC PHENOMENOLOGY STUDY

Abstract

In the UAE, English-speaking expatriate nurses are the backbone of substance misuse treatment facilities. This research aims to study their experiences and perceptions, exploring their lived experiences while caring for Emiratis who have been involved in substance misuse. The study adopted hermeneutic phenomenology, to uncover the meaning of the nurses’ experiences. This study is the first to explore this phenomenon in the UAE.

Twenty English-speaking expatriate nurses working in substance misuse treatment facilities in the UAE were purposefully recruited for face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The results were analysed structurally and compared to the existing literature. The findings of this phenomenological perspective provide new insights into the lived experiences of English-speaking expatriate nurses, highlighting the unique challenges they face, reflecting the essence of lived experiences, meaning, feelings, needs, and unique challenges while caring for Emiratis involved in substance misuse.

Four main themes were identified: “Behind the Scene”, “Clinical Facilitators”, “Professional Identity of Nurses”, and “Expatriate Nurses’ Coping Strategies”, with significant findings concerning workplace violence, professional jealousy, a lack of specialist nurses, poor verbal communication and working language. In addition, the role of nursing leaders is crucial in providing specialist nurses and establishing professional development education programs and orientation programs that upscale the knowledge and skills of nurses. The concern of not “Being Trusted or Respected” by service users also negatively impacted the nurses’ motivations, feelings, thoughts, and coping strategies. The four themes reflect these findings.

It is necessary to improve the working environment to address the identified issues and significantly improve the care provided by English-speaking expatriate nurses to Emiratis involved in substance misuse. These insights are relevant to contemporary nursing leaders and expatriate nurses and offer valuable directions for future research on nursing within the UAE, instilling a sense of optimism for the future of nursing in the region.