An Evaluation of a Narrative Expressive Writing Program for Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate a writing program targeted to reduce stress and improve resilience in nurses during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). BACKGROUND: Occupational hazards often result in poor mental health outcomes. The pandemic highlighted this problem. Because nurses face barriers to accessing support, brief interventions are needed to process stressful events. METHODS: Over 5 weeks, nurses across the United States detailed their COVID-19 experiences through narrative expressive writing. Trained mental health professionals provided confidential feedback. RESULTS: One thousand one hundred three nurses enrolled in the program, with 430 continuing to the 1st session. Approximately 36% who began the program completed all 5 sessions. Feedback suggested high satisfaction with their experience in the program, but no significant changes in perceived levels of stress or resilience were observed. CONCLUSION: Narrative expressive writing is an accessible intervention with the potential to decrease stress. This program is a flexible, personalized model that managers can offer to staff to promote healthy coping strategies.

Acceptability of cognitive anxiety sensitivity treatment among veterans with mTBI.

OBJECTIVE: Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a transdiagnostic risk factor for persistent physical and psychological symptoms relevant to veterans, such as postconcussive symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The Cognitive Anxiety Sensitivity Treatment (CAST) computerized intervention has been shown to reduce AS but has not been widely used among veterans. The purpose of this study was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of CAST among veterans with elevated AS and mTBI eligible to receive Veterans Health Administration (VHA) care. DESIGN: Twenty-two veterans with mTBI, elevated cognitive AS, and history of deployment to Iraq and/or Afghanistan completed a single assessment and intervention session. Acceptability was assessed with the Client Satisfaction Quesitonnaire-8 (CSQ-8) and a qualitative interview. Measures of feasibility included study enrollment, ease of participation, and intervention completion. AS was assessed pre- and post-CAST completion. RESULTS: Consistent with interview responses, 77.3% of participants' CSQ-8 scores indicated that veterans found the intervention acceptable. Technological issues, such as internet connectivity, decreased feasibility of consistently delivering the intervention in the research setting readily available to the study team. Decreases on pre-to-post intervention AS outcomes were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Acceptability of the CAST intervention in this sample was generally supported. Feasibility of implementing CAST in this study was limited by technological issues. Data did not indicate a critical need to revise content of the CAST intervention. Identified strategies for increasing the feasibility of future research and clinical implementation of CAST are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Addressing Burnout Syndrome From a Critical Care Specialty Organization Perspective.

BACKGROUND: Health care specialty organizations are an important resource for their membership; however, it is not clear how specialty societies should approach combating stress and burnout on an organizational scale. OBJECTIVE: To understand the prevalence of burnout syndrome in American Thoracic Society members, identify specialty-specific risk factors, and generate strategies for health care societies to combat burnout. METHODS: Cross-sectional, mixed-methods survey in a sample of 2018 American Thoracic Society International Conference attendees to assess levels of burnout syndrome, work satisfaction, and stress. RESULTS: Of the 130 respondents, 69% reported high stress, 38% met burnout criteria, and 20% confirmed chaotic work environments. Significant associations included sex and stress level; clinical time and at-home electronic health record work; and US practice and at-home electronic health record work. There were no significant associations between burnout syndrome and the selected demographics. Participants indicated patient care as the most meaningful aspect of work, whereas the highest contributors to burnout were workload and electronic health record documentation. Importantly, most respondents were unaware of available resources for burnout. CONCLUSIONS: Health care specialty societies have access to each level of the health system, creating an opportunity to monitor trends, disseminate resources, and influence the direction of efforts to reduce workplace stress and enhance clinician well-being.

Creative Arts Therapy as a Potential Intervention to Prevent Burnout and Build Resilience in Health Care Professionals.

The delivery of health care is undergoing a rapid evolution that is dramatically changing the way health care professionals perform their job responsibilities. In this increasingly stressful work environment, professionals are experiencing alarming rates of burnout. Recent efforts to enhance wellness have been directed toward organizations. However, because of the nature of the work performed in intensive care units, interventions to develop individual resilience are also needed. Currently, medical centers are environments in which the emotional impact of work-related trauma is often minimized and rarely processed. Some individuals may struggle to describe or express the impact of those traumas. Through nonverbal interventions, creative arts therapy can help people access, explore, and share authentic emotion in visual, musical, physical, or written form. By reconstructing meaning through transformative methods, participants may confront, reflect, and better cope with traumatic experiences while catalyzing social support networks and deepening relational bonds in the workplace.

Prevalence of Coping Strategy Training in Nursing School Curricula.

BACKGROUND: Stress and burnout are plaguing critical care nurses across the globe and leading to high levels of turnover. Resilience-building strategies such as mindfulness, self-care, and well-being can help shield nurses from the negative effects of workplace stress. As the first line of defense, nursing schools could provide students with strategies that build resilience; however, little is known about the availability of such resources in nursing education. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of resources and curricula targeting resilience training and stress reduction at nursing schools across the United States. METHODS: Raters analyzed publicly available college/ university websites and course catalogs of a sample of nursing schools in the United States to determine the availability of resilience resources and curricula. RESULTS: None of the schools surveyed regularly screened their students for burnout syndrome, and only 9% of schools had a formal curriculum that included resilience training. CONCLUSIONS: Training in practices to build resilience and prevent burnout is essentially absent from accredited nursing schools. This highlights an important opportunity to modify existing curricula to include preventative strategies-such as developing positive coping skills- that could mitigate symptoms of workplace stress in future generations of nurses.