"Don't Just Study our Distress, Do Something": Implementing and Evaluating a Modified Stepped-Care Model for Health Care Worker Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been concerns about the mental health of health care workers (HCW). Although numerous studies have investigated the level of distress among HCW, few studies have explored programs to improve their mental well-being. In this paper, we describe the implementation and evaluation of a program to support the mental health of HCW at University Health Network (UHN), Canada's largest healthcare network. METHODS: Using a quality improvement approach, we conducted a needs assessment and then created and evaluated a modified stepped-care model to address HCW mental health during the pandemic. This included: online resources focused on psychoeducation and self-management, access to online support and psychotherapeutic groups, and self-referral for individual care from a psychologist or psychiatrist. We used ongoing mixed-methods evaluation, combining quantitative and qualitative analysis, to improve program quality. RESULTS: The program is ongoing, running continuously throughout the pandemic. We present data up to November 30, 2021. There were over 12,000 hits to the UHN's COVID mental health intranet web page, which included self-management resources and information on group support. One hundred and sixty-six people self-referred for individual psychological or psychiatric care. The mean wait time from referral to initial appointment was 5.4 days, with an average of seven appointments for each service user. The majority had moderate to severe symptoms of depression and anxiety at referral, with over 20% expressing thoughts of self-harm or suicide. Post-care user feedback, collected through self-report surveys and semistructured interviews, indicated that the program is effective and valued. CONCLUSIONS: Development of a high-quality internal mental health support for HCW program is feasible, effective, and highly valued. By using early and frequent feedback from multiple perspectives and stakeholders to address demand and implement changes responsively, the program was adjusted to meet HCW mental health needs as the pandemic evolved.

Self-managing symptoms of Long COVID: an education and strategies research protocol.

Post-acute sequelae of SARS-COV-2 (PASC) is growing in prevalence, and involves symptoms originating from the central neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, autonomic nervous, or immune systems. There are non-specific symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, and brain fog, which cannot be ascribed to a single system. PASC places a notable strain on our healthcare system, which is already laden with a large number of acute-COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, it impedes social, academic and vocational functioning, and impacts family life, relationships, and work/financial life. The treatment for PASC needs to target this non-specific etiology and wide-ranging sequelae. In conditions similar to PASC, such as "chemo brain," and prolonged symptoms of concussion, the non-specific symptoms have shown to be effectively managed through education and strategies for self-management and Mindfulness interventions. However, such interventions have yet to be empirically evaluated in PASC to our knowledge. In response to this gap, we have developed a virtual education intervention synthesized by psychiatrists and clinical psychologists for the current study. We will undertake a two-phase randomized controlled trial to determine the feasibility (Phase 1; N = 90) and efficacy (Phase 2; sample sized based on phase 1 results) of the novel 8 week Education and Self-Management Strategies group compared to a mindfulness skills program, both delivered virtually. Main outcomes include confidence/ability to self-manage symptoms, quality of life, and healthcare utilization. This study stands to mitigate the deleterious intrusiveness of symptoms on everyday life in patients with PASC, and may also help to reduce the impact of PASC on the healthcare system. Clinical trial registration:https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05268523; identifier NCT05268523.

Cognitive behavior therapy after acquired brain injury: maintenance of therapeutic benefits at 6 months posttreatment.

OBJECTIVES: To examine whether 6-month posttreatment acquired brain injury (ABI) patients receiving cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) adapted for ABI would demonstrate (1) maintenance of psychological benefits, (2) better community integration, and (3) commensurate benefits for both teletherapy and face-to-face group therapy. A secondary objective was to examine the relationship between coping strategies and mood and community integration. PARTICIPANTS: Seventeen chronic ABI patients with elevated psychological distress. OUTCOME MEASURES: Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21), Community Integration Questionnaire, and the Ways of Coping questionnaire, revised. PROCEDURES: Eleven CBT sessions provided either in a face-to-face group format or individually by telephone with outcomes measured pretreatment, posttreatment, and at 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: At 6-month follow-up, full-group scores were significantly better than pretreatment for psychological distress (t(16) = 6.22, P < .01, SCL-90-R; t(16) = 7.32, P < .01, DASS-21) and for community integration (t(16) = -6.15, P < .01), with negligible decrements from immediately posttreatment. Subgroup scores were comparable. Coping also improved but was uncorrelated with mood or community integration. CONCLUSION: The CBT adapted for ABI shows enduring benefits for mood and community integration. The efficacy of teletherapy obviates service access problems related to geographical remoteness and mobility restrictions. A larger, randomized, control trial that examines underlying mechanisms of efficacy is needed.

The efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy in the treatment of emotional distress after acquired brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), adapted to meet the unique needs of individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI), and modified for both group and telephone delivery. DESIGN: Matched-controlled trial, with multiple measurements across participants, including pretreatment baseline assessment plus posttreatment and 1-month follow-up. SETTING: Outpatient community brain injury center. PARTICIPANTS: Participants (N=20) with chronic ABI. Ten were assigned to the CBT treatment group and 10 to education control. All were experiencing significant emotional distress at the onset of the study. INTERVENTION: Eleven sessions of CBT (or education control), including 1 introductory individual session plus 10 further sessions administered in either group format or by telephone. The CBT was designed to decrease psychologic distress and improve coping. Specific adaptations were made to the CBT in order to better accommodate individuals with cognitive difficulties. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome measures included the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). Secondary outcome measures included the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) and the Ways of Coping Scale, Revised. RESULTS: Significant CBT treatment effects (in both group and telephone formats) were observed on the SCL-90-R and the DASS-21, whereas no significant effects were observed in the education control group. No significant effects of treatment were observed on the CIQ or Ways of Coping Scale, Revised. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that adapted CBT-administered by telephone or in a face-to-face group setting-can significantly improve emotional well-being in chronic ABI.