Dataset Information

Forty-five good things: a prospective pilot study of the Three Good Things well-being intervention in the USA for healthcare worker emotional exhaustion, depression, work-life balance and happiness.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

High rates of healthcare worker (HCW) burn-out have led many to label it an 'epidemic' urgently requiring interventions. This prospective pilot study examined the efficacy, feasibility and evaluation of the 'Three Good Things' (3GT) intervention for HCWs, and added burn-out and work-life balance to the set of well-being metrics.

Methods

228 HCWs participated in a prospective, repeated measures study of a web-based 15-day long 3GT intervention. Assessments were collected at baseline and 1, 6 and 12-month post-intervention. The primary measure of efficacy was a derivative of the emotional exhaustion subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The secondary measures were validated instruments assessing depression symptoms, subjective happiness, and work-life balance. Paired samples t-tests and Cohen's d effect sizes for correlated samples were used to examine the efficacy of the intervention.

Results

3GT participants exhibited significant improvements from baseline in emotional exhaustion, depression symptoms and happiness at 1 month, 6 months and 12?months, and in work-life balance at 1 month and 6 months (effect sizes 0.16-0.52). Exploratory subgroup analyses of participants meeting 'concerning' criteria at baseline revealed even larger effects at all assessment points (0.55-1.57). Attrition rates were similar to prior 3GT interventions.

Conclusion

3GT appears a promising low-cost and brief intervention for improving HCW well-being.

Ethics and dissemination

This study is approved by the Institutional Review Board of Duke University Health System (Pro00063703). All participants are required to give their informed consent prior to any study procedure.

SUBMITTER: Sexton JB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6475256 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Forty-five good things: a prospective pilot study of the Three Good Things well-being intervention in the USA for healthcare worker emotional exhaustion, depression, work-life balance and happiness.

Sexton J Bryan JB Adair Kathryn C KC

BMJ open 20190320 3

<h4>Objectives</h4>High rates of healthcare worker (HCW) burn-out have led many to label it an 'epidemic' urgently requiring interventions. This prospective pilot study examined the efficacy, feasibility and evaluation of the 'Three Good Things' (3GT) intervention for HCWs, and added burn-out and work-life balance to the set of well-being metrics.<h4>Methods</h4>228 HCWs participated in a prospective, repeated measures study of a web-based 15-day long 3GT intervention. Assessments were collected ...[more]

PMID: 30898795

Similar Datasets

Project description:ImportanceEmotional exhaustion (EE) rates in healthcare workers (HCWs) have reached alarming levels and been linked to worse quality of care. Prior research has shown linguistic characteristics of writing samples can predict mental health disorders. Understanding whether linguistic characteristics are associated with EE could help identify and predict EE.ObjectivesTo examine whether linguistic characteristics of HCW writing associate with prior, current, and future EE.Design setting and participantsA large hospital system in the Mid-West had 11,336 HCWs complete annual quality improvement surveys in 2019, and 10,564 HCWs in 2020. Surveys included a measure of EE, an open-ended comment box, and an anonymous identifier enabling HCW responses to be linked across years. Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software assessed the frequency of one exploratory and eight a priori hypothesized linguistic categories in written comments. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) assessed associations between these categories and past, present, and future HCW EE adjusting for the word count of comments. Comments with <20 words were excluded.Main outcomes and measuresThe frequency of the linguistic categories (word count, first person singular, first person plural, present focus, past focus, positive emotion, negative emotion, social, power) in HCW comments were examined across EE quartiles.ResultsFor the 2019 and 2020 surveys, respondents wrote 3,529 and 3,246 comments, respectively, of which 2,101 and 1,418 comments (103,474 and 85,335 words) contained ≥20 words. Comments using more negative emotion (p < 0.001), power (i.e., references relevant to status, dominance, and social hierarchies, e.g., own, order, and allow) words (p < 0.0001), and words overall (p < 0.001) were associated with higher current and future EE. Using positive emotion words (p < 0.001) was associated with lower EE in 2019 (but not 2020). Contrary to hypotheses, using more first person singular (p < 0.001) predicted lower current and future EE. Past and present focus, first person plural, and social words did not predict EE. Current EE did not predict future language use.ConclusionFive linguistic categories predicted current and subsequent HCW EE. Notably, EE did not predict future language. These linguistic markers suggest a language of EE, offering insights into EE's etiology, consequences, measurement, and intervention. Future use of these findings could include the ability to identify and support individuals and units at high risk of EE based on their linguistic characteristics.

Dataset Information

Forty-five good things: a prospective pilot study of the Three Good Things well-being intervention in the USA for healthcare worker emotional exhaustion, depression, work-life balance and happiness.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Ethics and dissemination

Publications

Forty-five good things: a prospective pilot study of the Three Good Things well-being intervention in the USA for healthcare worker emotional exhaustion, depression, work-life balance and happiness.

Similar Datasets

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