Co-production of an intervention to increase retention of early career nurses: Acceptability and feasibility

Co-production is a process employed to solve complex issues, recognising the expertise of all stakeholders. This paper reports on co-production undertaken by nursing students, early career nurses and researchers as part of a larger study to design an intervention to increase retention of early career nurses. Mixed methods were used to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of the co-production process in a UK university. Data were collected prospectively, concurrently and retrospectively via interview and questionnaire, between April 2018 and January 2019. Twelve co-production group members completed the questionnaire and six group members and facilitators were interviewed. Students and early career nurses reported personal benefit from participating; they developed and practised transferrable communication and problem-solving skills, believed they were able to make a difference, enjoyed contributing, found benefit from using the group as a reflective space and considered that co-production produced a credible intervention. Findings indicated co-production equipped participants to function more effectively in their nursing roles; incorporating co-production into the development of future interventions may prove beneficial. The relative novelty of this approach, and the potential application of the findings to a diverse range of geographical and organisational settings, add to the utility of the findings.