This thesis aims to explore what factors support aid workers to continue in the humanitarian sector, even with the knowledge that their personal well-being, and sometimes their lives, may be in danger due to risk-filled settings and assignments. To find out what factors that encourage aid workers to continue, the thesis also examines their backgrounds and paths into this profession. It further aims to determine what factors the aid workers find difficult in their work and what coping strategies they use to deal with the difficulties in order to prevent and recover from exhaustion and burnout. Data was derived from semi-structured in-depth interviews with experienced aid workers from both global south[1] and global north[2] countries, working in different organizations, countries and contexts. This material was complemented by an unstructured literature review. The theories that have been used for the analysis and as a guiding framework is mainly the notion of habitus by Pierre Bourdieu (1986, 1996) and, as a complement, the theory of intersectionality (Mattsson, 2010). A number of factors that encourage humanitarian aid workers throughout their careers have been identified. In the research findings, the following themes were distinguished to answer the aim and questions at issue; impeding factors, social background and supporting factors. Impeding factors are included and investigated since they can help to explain what it is that encourage aid workers to persist despite the difficulties they face. Results indicate that the aid workers to a certain extent have been affected by role models and cultural, social and economic conditions and experiences in their upbringing, which have all played a role throughout their careers. Other supporting factors have been gained through the aid work over time, such as developing ways to make it more effective to avoid exhaustion and burnout. The study further shows that a person’s background, as understood via Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, may affect the supporting factors over time. The initial motives to engage in aid work tends to perpetuate throughout the career, and aid workers return back to, and find strength in, such motives after facing burnout. Moreover, it is demonstrated that finding one’s personal coping strategies is essential, such as hobbies and spending time with loved ones. When recovering from exhaustion and burnout, innovations in behavior and more efficient ways to work can be developed. Hence, the supporting factors can change with time.

Bakgrund: Internationellt humanitärt arbete är ett område där sjuksköterskor är aktiva. Att delta i internationella humanitära insatser innebär emellertid att arbeta i miljöer annorlunda från de normala med andra förutsättningar. Miljön där sjuksköterskan arbetar påverkar också omvårdnaden och det ingår tillika i sjuksköterskans yrkeskunskap att ha kunskap om den miljön där arbetet äger rum. Tidigare forskning visar att sjuksköterskor inte känner sig tillräckligt förberedda inför arbetet i dessa sammanhang. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av miljön i internationella humanitära insatser samt hur upplevelser av arbetet i denna miljö, kommer till uttryck i egna berättelser. Metod: Kvalitativ textanalys, enligt Holme och Solvang, av 18 narrativa artiklar skrivna av sjuksköterskor, eller i enstaka fall intervjuer med sjuksköterskor, som deltagit i internationella humanitära insatser. Resultat: Genom analys av de narrativa artiklarna framkom fyra huvudteman: Bristande resurser, Utsatthet, Emotionella möten, samt Coping. I temat Bristande resurser beskrivs miljön. Miljön präglades av resurssvaghet, något som påverkade sjuksköterskornas arbete. Utsatthet skildrar hur sjuksköterskorna utsattes för risker och faror under uppdragen. Under temat Emotionella möten återfinns sjuksköterskornas beskrivningar av betydelsefulla möten med lokalbefolkningen. Coping berör sjuksköterskornas beskrivningar av strategier för att hantera svårigheter, teamets betydelse samt hur uppdragen upplevdes som givande. Slutsats: Resursbristen i arbetet upplevdes som svår. Arbetet i de internationella uppdragen hade stora variationer. Kreativitet, flexibilitet och förståelse var viktiga för att hantera svårigheter i arbetet under uppdragen. Genom att sätta in resultatet av studien i en klassificeringsmodell av omvårdnadsvetenskapens områden kan internationellt humanitärt arbete konceptualiseras utifrån ett omvårdnadsvetenskapligt perspektiv. Klinisk betydelse: Resultatet från denna studie kan användas för att förbättra utbildningen för sjuksköterskor i internationella humanitära insatser. / Background: International humanitarian aid work is a field where nurses are active. Yet, to participate in international humanitarian action is to work in an environment different from what is normal with unlike circumstances. The environment where nurses work also has an effect on the nursing care and it is a part of the nurses’ professional knowledge to have insight of the environment in which the work takes place. Earlier research suggests that nurses feel inadequately prepared for the work in this context. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore in which way nurses’ experiences of the environment in international humanitarian aid work and how experiences of the work in such environment, are expressed in their own narrated texts. Methodology: Qualitative textual analysis, according to the way of Holme and Solvang, of 18 narrated articles written by nurses, or in a few cases interviews with nurses, whom have all participated in international humanitarian aid work. Result: Four main themes emerged from the analysis of the material: Lack of resources, Vulnerability, Emotional meetings, and Coping. The theme Lack of resources describes the environment. The environment was characterized by resource weakness, which affected the nurses' work. Exposure depicts how nurses were exposed to hazards and dangers during the missions. In the theme Emotional meeting the nurses descriptions of meaningful encounters with the locals is to be found. Coping relates to the nurses descriptions of strategies to address difficulties, the importance of the team and how the missions were experienced as meaningful. Conclusions: Lack of resources was perceived as difficult. The work of the international commissions had wide variations. Creativity, flexibility and understanding were important to address difficulties during the missions. By inserting the results of the study in a classification model of nursing science areas, international humanitarian aid work can be conceptualized from a nursing science perspective. Clinical impact: The results of this study can be used to improve education for nurses in international humanitarian aid work.