Job stress and burnout are significant problems affecting physical health, emotional well-being, job performance, and retention of nurses. Enhanced Stress Resilience Training (ESRT) is a theory-driven, evidence-based intervention to increase stress resilience and decrease burnout among clinicians. This study is a randomized waitlist-controlled trial to examine the efficacy, feasibility, and long-term sustainability of the 5-week ESRT intervention to improve psychosocial and occupational well-being of critical care nurses.
Feasibility and Efficacy of Enhanced Stress Resilience Training for Psychosocial and Occupational Wellbeing of Critical Care Nurses
The critical care setting is a stressful work environment where nurses provide intensive care to patients with life-threatening conditions. Regular job stress from the complex and fast-paced critical care work environment has been further intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in unprecedented challenges to health systems and has affected psychosocial and occupational wellbeing of healthcare workers. High or chronic job stress that is not properly managed can lead to burnout, which is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and decreased personal accomplishment. Burnout has negative impacts on physical and mental health (e.g., fatigue, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders), job performance or productivity (e.g., absenteeism, presenteeism), quality of care and patient care outcomes. Burnout also negatively affects nurses' retention and job turnover. The global prevalence of burnout among nurses ranges from 0.1% to 47.8% (pooled prevalence 11.2%) and critical care nurses are reported to have the highest prevalence of burnout (14.4%) among all specialties. Therefore, there is a substantial need to address burnout and promote occupational wellness of critical care nurses. Enhanced Stress Resilience Training (ESRT) is a theory-driven, evidence-based intervention developed by UCSF Associate Professor of Surgery, Dr. Carter Lebares aimed at increasing stress resilience and decreasing burnout among clinicians. The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy, feasibility, and long-term sustainability of the 5-week ESRT intervention to improve psychosocial and occupational well-being among critical care nurses. The study will conduct a randomized waitlist-controlled trial among 100 UCSF critical care nurses.