Effects of three personal resources interventions on employees' burnout.

Personal resources are related to positive psychological states that can translate into lower burnout among employees. However, although these personal resources can be promoted through ad hoc interventions, there are few studies that analyze this type of interventions in workers. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of three interventions on personal resources on reducing employees' burnout. To this end, it was hypothesized that a positive psychological capital intervention (PsyCap), a job crafting intervention and a combined intervention would have a positive impact on burnout levels. This research used a quasi-experimental, longitudinal, pretest-posttest design, with repeated measures and a waiting list control group. Study participants (N = 144) were all workers divided into three interventions and a control group. A noteworthy aspect of the study design is that the intervention was implemented as a voluntary online training activity. This study showed that personal resources interventions were effective in reducing burnout among employees. The PsyCap intervention and the combined intervention showed the greatest efficacy. Contrary to expectations, the combined intervention did not show significantly greater efficacy than the other two experimental groups. The study concludes with a discussion of its limitations and practical implications for future personal resources intervention studies.

Adaptation to Spanish of the "Relational Needs Satisfaction Scale": Translation and psychometric testing.

This article aims to adapt to Spanish the Relational Needs Satisfaction Scale (RNSS) and to test the factor structure with a clinical and a non-clinical sample. A total of 459 individuals completed the RNSS, a measure of life satisfaction and of psychological wellbeing. Results showed that the translation was adequate. An exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted followed by the test of three models that confirmed the five-factor structure and the second-order global factor proposed in the original study, and in adaptations to other languages. The advantages and disadvantages of these models are discussed. Correlations of the RNSS with life satisfaction and psychological wellbeing measures were in the expected direction, providing evidence of convergent validity. The Spanish version of the RNSS is a valid and reliable measure of the construct it was intended to measure, though some improvements in item wording could be incorporated and tested (for instance, item 18 should be positively worded as the rest of the items in order to avoid the effect of negative wording).

Job Crafting and Work Engagement: The Mediating Role of Work Meaning.

One of the most widely researched personal resources is job crafting, for which several studies have confirmed the existence of a positive relationship with engagement. Some authors suggest that it would be necessary to go deeper into the mechanisms that can help us explain this relationship. Therefore, the aim of this study is to ascertain the possible influence of the meaning of work on the relationship between job crafting and engagement. The sample is composed of 814 workers (50.4% women) with an average age of 41.68 years (SD = 9.78). The results were obtained by simple mediation analysis using PROCESS. The meaning of work mediates the relationship between job crafting and engagement, this influence being especially significant in the case of cognitive crafting. This study confirms the positive relationship between job crafting and engagement. However, in the case of some types of job crafting, increased levels of engagement only occur if the individuals also manage to increase the levels of meaning attributed to the work role. Therefore, in order to improve the well-being levels of working people, it would also be necessary to help them understand how these changes help them to attribute more meaning to their work.

Development of a cognitive-existential intervention to decrease compassion fatigue in formal caregivers / Desarrollo de una intervención cognitiva-existencial para disminuir la fatiga por compasión en cuidadores formales

Abstract Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life of patients with chronic and advanced illnesses and their families. This requires a multidisciplinary approach from formal caregivers. Though caring for others could be rewarding and this satisfaction relates to higher work engagement and resiliency, formal caregivers of palliative care patients may develop compassion fatigue due to the nature of their work. This fatigue affects caregivers, their interpersonal relationships, and the quality of care they provide. Supporting formal caregivers and improving communication plays a vital role. Considering the efficacy of the existential interventions in other populations, and the lack of testing of these interventions on formal caregivers of palliative care teams, this article aims to describe the design and development of an eight-session cognitive-existential group-based psychoeducational intervention to reduce compassion fatigue and to promote self-care and satisfaction of formal caregivers of palliative care patients in a Latin American context. The intervention used Frankl's Logotherapy and Ellis' rational emotive therapy as the theoretical framework and included the necessities of formal caregivers in this specific setting. As a result, this article presents the theoretical development of the intervention and its structure, as well as the objectives and specific content of each session. Empirical research, reported elsewhere, has proven its long-term effectiveness in reducing the compassion fatigue of this population. This makes it a replicable intervention with promising results. Future studies need to continue its evaluation and include professionals in other settings outside palliative care.

Resumen Los cuidados paliativos buscan mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas con enfermedades crónicas y avanzadas, y la de sus familiares. Este tipo de cuidados requiere un enfoque multidisciplinario desde un equipo de cuidadores formales, trabajadores o voluntarios asociados a un sistema de servicios estructurado que brindan cuidados y atención. Este equipo puede incluir voluntarios y especialistas en medicina, enfermería, trabajo social, psicología, cuidado espiritual, nutrición, entre otros. Todos los involucrados deben tener entrenamiento específico y una actitud humanizada para lidiar no solo con los síntomas físicos de las enfermedades sino con las necesidades psicológicas y espirituales que los pacientes y sus familias puedan tener. Por esto, trabajar en cuidados paliativos demanda conocimiento, autocuidado y fortaleza emocional y psicológica. A pesar de que cuidar de otras personas puede ser gratificante y esta satisfacción se relaciona con el compromiso laboral (engagement) y la resiliencia, los cuidadores formales de personas con necesidades paliativas también pueden desarrollar fatiga por compasión debido a la naturaleza de su labor. Esta fatiga afecta a sus relaciones interpersonales y a la calidad del cuidado que brindan. Desde una perspectiva organizacional, el apoyar a los cuidadores formales es vital. Investigaciones muestran que el respeto, el sentido y el perdón pueden influir en la satisfacción laboral y en el desempeño. La literatura contiene algunas intervenciones que procuran promover estas y otras características para aliviar la posible carga del cuidador; sin embargo, es difícil analizar y replicar dichas intervenciones debido a una falta de rigurosidad en el reporte de sus procedimientos, su desarrollo y su efectividad. Las intervenciones centradas en el sentido se han mostrado efectivas en promover la satisfacción en pacientes y familiares de personas con necesidades paliativas. No obstante, a la fecha de realización de este estudio, solo una intervención reportaba el uso del enfoque existencial con cuidadores formales (enfermeras de cuidados paliativos). Considerando la efectividad de las intervenciones de base existencial en otras poblaciones y la ausencia de investigación sobre estas en cuidadores formales de equipos de cuidados paliativos, este artículo tiene como objetivo describir el diseño y desarrollo de una intervención psicoeducativa grupal de tipo cognitivo-existencial de ocho sesiones creada para reducir la fatiga por compasión y promover el autocuidado y la satisfacción de los cuidadores formales de pacientes en cuidados paliativos en un contexto latinoamericano. Primero, considerando la literatura existente y las situaciones específicas con las que lidian los cuidadores, inicialmente utilizamos la logoterapia de Viktor Frankl como la base teórica de la intervención. De esta manera buscamos abordar los problemas existenciales y las situaciones que los cuidadores enfrentan diariamente. Después de este desarrollo teórico, dos expertos en terapia existencial revisaron la intervención propuesta. Como resultado, se incorporaron técnicas de la terapia racional emotiva de Albert Ellis. Además, también se tuvo en cuenta un estudio cualitativo que informaba sobre las necesidades de los cuidadores formales en este contexto específico con respecto a su fatiga y satisfacción en el trabajo. De esta manera, se adaptó la versión final de la intervención para satisfacer las necesidades específicas de la población objetivo. Como resultado, este artículo presenta el desarrollo teórico de la intervención y la construcción de su estructura, así como los objetivos y el contenido de cada una de las sesiones. Tanto el material para los participantes como el manual del facilitador están disponibles mediante el contacto con el autor responsable de la correspondencia. Investigación empírica, publicada en otro lugar, ha demostrado la eficacia a largo plazo de esta intervención para reducir la fatiga por compasión. Esto la convierte en una intervención replicable con resultados prometedores. Futuros estudios podrían continuar su evaluación con cuidadores en entornos fuera de los cuidados paliativos.

Cognitive, relational and task crafting: Spanish adaptation and analysis of psychometric properties of the Job Crafting Questionnaire.

Even though classic job design theories have evolved over the years and become more focused on employees' ability to autonomously change their job characteristics, tools to assess job crafting are still limited. The purpose of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Job Crafting Questionnaire (JCQ), taking into account the valuable contribution made by Wrzesniewski and Dutton's model to the understanding of the job crafting concept. The total sample consisted of 768 employees (participants' mean age was 41.63 and 49.7% of them were women). The sample was randomly divided into two halves in order to conduct two factor analyses (Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis). Concurrent and convergent validity was assessed by computing correlations with validated questionnaires for measuring job crafting (Job Crafting Scale, JCS), engagement (Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, UWES-9) and job burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, MBI-GS). The results indicated a high level of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .880) which was similar to the original scale, and provided a good fit to the three-dimensional model tested. Appropriate evidence of construct validity was also shown (r = .45 with total JCS; r = .52 with total UWES-9 and r-values between -.33 and .45 with MBI dimensions). The results confirmed that the Spanish translation of the JCQ is a suitable tool for measuring job crafting and enabling practitioners and researchers to further expand the existing knowledge of this concept.

Degree of Functionality and Perception of Health-Related Quality of Life in People with Moderate Stroke: Differences between Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Typology.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this pilot study were to analyze the functional differences and the differences regarding the perception of health-related quality of life between people affected by ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, respectively, and between these and their normative groups. METHODS: A pre-post design study was conducted with 30 patients aged 65 ± 15 during eight weeks. It assessed disability, mobility, and health-related quality of life. Exact nonparametric tests were used to compare both types of stroke, and t-tests and effect size estimates were employed to compare the stroke group and the normative group. RESULTS: At baseline, there were differences in disability ("getting along" domain), where a poorer result was obtained by the hemorrhagic stroke group, and in the "vitality" and "mental health" domains of the health-related quality of life test, where the ischemic group obtained poorer results. Both groups made significant progress in their health assessments and functionality after eight weeks, and no significant differences were found between them at that time. The scores obtained in both groups differed statistically from the normative values, both at baseline and at posttest. CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of the stroke type, divergent results were only found in two domains, "vitality" and "mental health." There was an improvement over time, but the scores obtained were still lower than those observed in the normative group, which indicated that the participants' health was highly compromised. This study provides more information for faster rehabilitation after stroke; even so, more studies are needed.

Barreras y recursos para cuidar: un abordaje cualitativo fenomenológico de la realidad del cuidador formal / Barriers and resources to care: a phenomenological qualitative approach to the reality of the formal caregiver

OBJETIVO: Este estudio propone explorar la realidad de los cuidadores formales de personas con enfermedades crónicas, degenerativas y en cuidados paliativos, analizando las barreras y recursos que ellos perciben para realizar su labor. MÉTODO: Entre octubre y diciembre de 2016, 84 cuidadores formales de tres instituciones privadas de varios niveles de atención en Quito (Ecuador) participaron en entrevistas semiestructuradas que fueron grabadas en audio, transcritas verbatim y analizadas desde el enfoque fenomenológico utilizando el software Atlas.ti 7.5.10. RESULTADOS: Las barreras estatales referentes a la falta de provisión de servicios por parte del Estado fueron las más prevalentes. Por otro lado, la satisfacción y el sentido de servir y cuidar fueron los recursos más utilizados. Las otras situaciones identifi cadas se ubicaron en un espectro entre barreras y recursos, dependiendo de cómo se las manejara. Estas fueron el conocimiento y la comprensión de las enfermedades y los cuidados paliativos, el apoyo social, las vivencias personales y el autocuidado. CONCLUSIONES: Estos cuidadores formales perciben gran satisfacción en su labor; sin embargo, también se enfrentan diariamente a situaciones que pueden ser percibidas como barreras para cuidar. Los costes y benefi cios que experimentan durante sus actividades diarias influyen directamente en la percepción de su labor, en la calidad de cuidado que brindan y en la calidad y cantidad de autocuidado que practican. Comprender y gestionar efectivamente estas vivencias puede apoyar positivamente al cuidador formal

OBJECTIVE: This study explored the reality of formal caregivers for people in palliative care and with chronic or degenerative diseases by analyzing the barriers and resources they face. METHOD: Between October and December 2016, 84 formal caregivers from three private institutions of various levels of care in Quito (Ecuador) participated in semi-structured interviews that were recorded on audio, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed from a phenomenological perspective using the Atlas.ti 7.5.10 software package. RESULTS: External barriers regarding the lack of provision of education and public services by the State were most prevalent. On the other hand, the most predominant resources were satisfaction and sense of meaning in serving and caring. Other aspects lied along the continuum between barriers and resources, depending on how they were handled. These included: knowledge and understanding of illnesses and palliative care, social support, personal experiences, and self-care. CONCLUSIONS: Formal caregivers for people with chronic, degenerative, and palliative care diseases perceive great satisfaction in their work; however, they also face daily situations that may be perceived as barriers to caring. The costs and benefits experienced during their daily activities directly influence the perception of their work, the quality of care they provide, and the quality and quantity of self-care they practice. Understanding and effectively managing these experiences may positively support formal caregivers

Effect of the Wii Sports Resort on the improvement in attention, processing speed and working memory in moderate stroke.

BACKGROUND: Stroke is the most common neurological disease in the world. After the stroke, some people suffer a cognitive disability. Commercial videogames have been used after stroke for physical rehabilitation; however, their use in cognitive rehabilitation has hardly been studied. The objectives of this study were to analyze attention, processing speed, and working memory in patients with moderate stroke after an intervention with Wii Sports Resort and compared these results with a control group. METHODS: A pre-post design study was conducted with 30 moderate stroke patients aged 65 ± 15. The study lasted eight weeks. 15 participated in the intervention group and 15 belong to the control group. They were assessed in attention and processing speed (TMT-A and B) and working memory (Digit Span of WAIS-III). Parametric and effect size tests were used to analyze the improvement of those outcomes and compared both groups. RESULTS: At the baseline, there was no difference between TMT-A and B. A difference was found in the scalar score of TMT-B, as well as in Digit Backward Span and Total Digit Task. In TMT-A and B, the intervention group had better scores than the control group. The intervention group in the Digit Forward Span and the Total Digit obtained a moderate effect size and the control group also obtained a moderate effect size in Total Digit. In the Digit scalar scores, the control group achieved better results than the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS: The results on attention, processing speed and working memory improved in both groups. However, according to the effect sizes, the intervention group achieved better results than the control group. In addition, the attention and processing speed improved more than the working memory after the intervention. Although more studies are needed in this area, the results are encouraging for cognitive rehabilitation after stroke.

Psychometric properties of the leisure time satisfaction scale in family caregivers / Propiedades psicométricas de la Escala de Satisfacción con el Ocio en familiares cuidadores

BACKGROUND: despite evidence of the numerous benefits of leisure to health and well-being appropriate tools to assess this construct are lacking. The purpose of this work was to analyse the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Leisure Time Satisfaction (LTS). METHOD: The sample was made up of 1048 primary family caregivers of dependent people. Scale structure was subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Concurrent and convergent validity were assessed by correlation with validated questionnaires for measuring burden (Zarit Burden Inventory - ZBI) and health (SF-36 Health Survey). RESULTS: The results show a high level of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .938) suitable fit of the dimensional model tested via confirmatory factor analysis (GFI = .925, BBNNFI= .996; IFI= .998, RMSEA= .043), and appropriate convergent validity with similar constructs (r = -.44 with ZBI; and r-values between .226 and .440 with SF-36 dimensions). CONCLUSION: Psychometric results obtained from the LTS are promising and the results enable us to draw the conclusion that it is a suitable tool for assessing caregivers' leisure time satisfaction

ANTECEDENTES: a pesar de las evidencias sobre los beneficios del ocio para la salud y el bienestar, apenas existen instrumentos para medir este constructo. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar las propiedades psicométricas de la versión española de la Escala de Satisfacción con el Ocio. MÉTODO: la muestra ha estado formada por 1.048 familiares cuidadores. La estructura de la escala ha sido analizada a través de análisis factoriales (exploratorio y confirmatorio) y para evaluar la validez concurrente y discriminante se han utilizado escalas validadas de sobrecarga (Zarit Burden Inventory - ZBI) y salud (SF-36 Health Survey). RESULTADOS: los resultados muestran una buena consistencia interna (Alpha de Cronbach = .938), un buen ajuste al modelo (GFI = .925, BBNNFI= .996; IFI= .998, RMSEA= .043) y una adecuada validez convergente con constructos similares (r = -.44 con ZBI y valores r entre .226 y .440 con SF-36). CONCLUSIÓN: las propiedades psicométricas de la versión española de la Leisure Time Satisfaction Scale (LTS) son prometedoras y los resultados obtenidos permiten concluir que es un instrumento adecuado para evaluar la satisfacción con el ocio de familiares cuidadores de personas dependientes

Psychometric properties of the Leisure Time Satisfaction Scale in family caregivers.

BACKGROUND: Despite evidence of the numerous benefits of leisure to health and well-being appropriate tools to assess this construct are lacking. The purpose of this work was to analyse the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Leisure Time Satisfaction (LTS). METHOD: The sample was made up of 1048 primary family caregivers of dependent people. Scale structure was subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Concurrent and convergent validity were assessed by correlation with validated questionnaires for measuring burden (Zarit Burden Inventory - ZBI) and health (SF-36 Health Survey). RESULTS: The results show a high level of internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .938) suitable fit of the dimensional model tested via confirmatory factor analysis (GFI = .925, BBNNFI= .996; IFI= .998, RMSEA= .043), and appropriate convergent validity with similar constructs (r = -.44 with ZBI; and r-values between .226 and .440 with SF-36 dimensions). CONCLUSION: Psychometric results obtained from the LTS are promising and the results enable us to draw the conclusion that it is a suitable tool for assessing caregivers’ leisure time satisfaction.

Adaptation and analysis of psychometric features of the Caregiver Risk Screen: a tool for detecting the risk of burden in family caregivers.

BACKGROUND: There are a limited number of scales available in the Spanish language that can be used to detect burden among individuals who care for a dependent family member. The purpose of this work was to adapt and validate the Caregiver Risk Screen (CRS) scale developed by Guberman et al. (2001) (Guberman, N., Keefe, J., Fancey, P., Nahmiash, D. and Barylak, L. (2001). Development of Screening and Assessment Tools for Family Caregivers: Final Report. Montreal, Canada: Health Transition Fund). METHODS: The sample was made up of 302 informal caregivers of dependent family members (average age 57.3 years, and 78.9% were women). Scale structure was subjected to a confirmatory factor analysis. Concurrent and convergent validity were assessed by correlation with validated questionnaires for measuring burden (Zarit Burden Inventory (ZBI)) and psychological health (SCL-90-R). RESULTS: The results show a high level of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86), suitable fit of the one-dimensional model tested via confirmatory factor analysis (GFI = 0.91; CFI = 0.91; RMSEA = 0.097), and appropriate convergent validity with similar constructs (r = 0.77 with ZBI; and r-values between 0.45 and 0.63 with SCL-90-R dimensions). CONCLUSIONS: The findings are promising in terms of their adaptation of the CRS to Spanish, and the results enable us to draw the conclusion that the CRS is a suitable tool for assessing and detecting strain in family caregivers. Nevertheless, new research is required that explores all the psychometric features on the scale.

Normative data for a Spanish version of the rey auditory-verbal learning test in older people

The Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test is an easy to administer test that assesses many memory domains and is, therefore, widely used in the area of clinical neuropsychology. The purpose of this study was to provide normative data for an elderly population living in Spain. The sample of this study was comprised of 156 volunteers over 60 years of age, which were grouped into six different age groups. These groups comprised of 10 participants between the ages of 61and 65 in the first group, 23 participants (66-70) in the second, 28 participants (71-75) in the third, 35 participants (76-80) in the fourth, 32 participants (81-85) in the fifth and 28 participants (86-95) in the sixth group. Demographic data were collected and means, deviations, and ranges of all the measures were evaluated. Normative data were calculated from the percentiles, and then converted into age-corrected scaled scores with a mean of 10 and a standard deviation of 3 (AU)

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Autopercepción del estado de salud en familiares cuidadores y su relación con el nivel de sobrecarga / Family caregiver’s self-perceived health status and its relation to burden

El objetivo del estudio es conocer cómo percibe su estado de salud una muestra de cuidadores familiares de la provincia de Vizcaya y comparar los resultados con datos referidos a población general española. Además se pretende comprobar si existe relación entre la salud percibida y el nivel de sobrecarga. La muestra consta de 1.257 cuidadores/as de personas dependientes. Se ha utilizado un protocolo elaborado para recoger información sobre aspectos sociodemográficos, salud percibida relacionada con la calidad de vida (SF-36) y sobrecarga (Zarit Burden Inventory). Los resultados muestran que la percepción general de salud de las personas cuidadoras que han participado en el estudio es peor que la de la población general española y que esta percepción es especialmente acusada en lo que se refi ere al componente de salud mental. Además, las correlaciones muestran que cuanto peor es la salud percibida mayor es la sobrecarga. Estos resultados confirman los hallazgos obtenidos en otros estudios y proporcionan claves para orientar las intervenciones dirigidas a mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas cuidadoras (AU)

The study aims to analyze how health is self-perceived by a sample of caregivers of dependant relatives and how it compares with general Spanish population scores. The study also focuses on the relations between self-perceived health and burden. The sample comprised 1,257 caregivers living in Biscay who completed the protocol including sociodemographic data, measures of health-related quality of life (SF-36) and burden (Zarit Burden Inventory). Results show that the health perception of the caregivers taking part into the study reached lower scores in comparison to general Spanish population and that this perception was lower in mental than in physical health. Correlational data supports previous findings indicating that high levels of burden are associated with a worse perception of mental and physical health and provide information on how to guide interventions to improve family caregivers’ quality of life (AU)

[Family caregiver's self-perceived health status and its relation to burden]. / Autopercepción del estado de salud en familiares cuidadores y su relación con el nivel de sobrecarga.

The study aims to analyze how health is self-perceived by a sample of caregivers of dependant relatives and how it compares with general Spanish population scores. The study also focuses on the relations between self-perceived health and burden. The sample comprised 1,257 caregivers living in Biscay who completed the protocol including sociodemographic data, measures of health-related quality of life (SF-36) and burden (Zarit Burden Inventory). Results show that the health perception of the caregivers taking part into the study reached lower scores in comparison to general Spanish population and that this perception was lower in mental than in physical health. Correlational data supports previous findings indicating that high levels of burden are associated with a worse perception of mental and physical health and provide information on how to guide interventions to improve family caregivers' quality of life.