TY - JOUR
T1 - Stress Resilience Program for Health Care Professionals During a Pandemic
T2 - A Pilot Program
AU - Croghan, Ivana T.
AU - Hurt, Ryan T.
AU - Fokken, Shawn C.
AU - Fischer, Karen M.
AU - Lindeen, Stephanie A.
AU - Schroeder, Darrell R.
AU - Ganesh, Ravindra
AU - Ghosh, Karthik
AU - Bausek, Nina
AU - Bauer, Brent A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s).
PY - 2023/4
Y1 - 2023/4
N2 - Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased burnout and staff turnover for health care providers (HCPs). The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the safety and acceptability of a Stress Resilience Program (SRP) for reducing perceived stress and improving resilience among HCPs during a pandemic. Method: Of the 12 HCPs expressing interest in the study, 10 were enrolled in this study. Participants attended three in-person visits (consent/screen, baseline, and end-of-study). The SRP consisted of education related to resilience enhancement and a breathing device (BreatherFit®) for combined respiratory muscle training (cRMT). Participants completed 4 weeks of cRMT and applied situational breathing strategies as needed. Outcomes measured were changes in stress (PSS-10), resilience (BRS), depression (PRIME-MD), and sleep (PSQI and Ōura Ring®). Findings: The majority of participants were male (60%) and White (60%) with an average age of 39.7 years. Changes from baseline to end-of-treatment indicated a positive trend with significant stress reduction (−3.2 ± 3.9, p =.028) and nonsignificant depression reduction (−0.5 ± 0.7, p =.05). Resilience was high at baseline and continued to stay high during the study with a nonsignificant increase at end-of-study (+0.07 ± 0.7, p =.77). No changes in overall sleep scores were noted. All participants agreed the study was worthwhile, 80% indicated they would repeat the experience, while 90% indicated they would recommend the study to others. Conclusion/Application to Practice: Because of its size and portability, SRP is an easily applicable and promising option for reducing stress among HCPs during a high-stress period, such as a pandemic. Larger studies are needed.
AB - Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased burnout and staff turnover for health care providers (HCPs). The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the safety and acceptability of a Stress Resilience Program (SRP) for reducing perceived stress and improving resilience among HCPs during a pandemic. Method: Of the 12 HCPs expressing interest in the study, 10 were enrolled in this study. Participants attended three in-person visits (consent/screen, baseline, and end-of-study). The SRP consisted of education related to resilience enhancement and a breathing device (BreatherFit®) for combined respiratory muscle training (cRMT). Participants completed 4 weeks of cRMT and applied situational breathing strategies as needed. Outcomes measured were changes in stress (PSS-10), resilience (BRS), depression (PRIME-MD), and sleep (PSQI and Ōura Ring®). Findings: The majority of participants were male (60%) and White (60%) with an average age of 39.7 years. Changes from baseline to end-of-treatment indicated a positive trend with significant stress reduction (−3.2 ± 3.9, p =.028) and nonsignificant depression reduction (−0.5 ± 0.7, p =.05). Resilience was high at baseline and continued to stay high during the study with a nonsignificant increase at end-of-study (+0.07 ± 0.7, p =.77). No changes in overall sleep scores were noted. All participants agreed the study was worthwhile, 80% indicated they would repeat the experience, while 90% indicated they would recommend the study to others. Conclusion/Application to Practice: Because of its size and portability, SRP is an easily applicable and promising option for reducing stress among HCPs during a high-stress period, such as a pandemic. Larger studies are needed.
KW - COVID-19
KW - anxiety
KW - health care provider
KW - respiratory muscle training
KW - stress
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U2 - 10.1177/21650799221093775
DO - 10.1177/21650799221093775
M3 - Article
C2 - 35787711
AN - SCOPUS:85133892024
SN - 2165-0799
VL - 71
SP - 173
EP - 180
JO - Workplace Health and Safety
JF - Workplace Health and Safety
IS - 4
ER -