Nurse Health Pilot: Feasibility and Acceptability of a Virtual ACT-intervention in Nurses During COVID-19 (NHP)

Prof. Dr. Andrew Gloster

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Stress

Treatments: Behavioral: ACT

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04821037

NHP

Details and patient eligibility

About

Frontline nurses increasingly face challenges between executing their jobs to the best of their ability and caring for their own physical and mental health. Such a stressful and fast-changing work environment impacts the nurses' psychological wellbeing, resulting in high levels of stress and burnout, which in turn negatively affects patient care and outcomes.

The aim of this study is to investigate whether a short virtual intervention, based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and adapted to caregivers, can lead to a reduction in psychological distress that may be associated with caregiving during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The intervention will be held online in a group setting during two half-day workshops using a conference application (e.g. Zoom).

Note: This study is part of an international joint research project "Nurse Health" between the Faculty of Psychology (University of Basel) and the Nethersole School of Nursing (Chinese University of Hong Kong), funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), with the Leading House for the Bilateral Science and Technology Cooperation Programme with Asia at ETH Zürich (Project No. COV_09_062020).

Enrollment: 10 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• at least 18 years of age
• degree in nursing
• working 40% or higher in a team of nurses in the somatic area
• currently or previously in contact with COVID-19 patients
• working in Switzerland

Exclusion criteria

• working in non-somatic areas (e.g. psychiatry)
• working in non-hospital environments (e.g. home treatment)
• not owning an electronic device
• unable to understand and speak German

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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10 participants in 1 patient group

ACT

Experimental group

Description:

A digitally-based ACT program will be conducted in two half-day workshops via meeting software (e.g. Zoom) consisting of: 1. mindfulness exercises, for stress reduction and to guide nurses to observe their painful thoughts and feelings that they are attempting to avoid; 2. ACT-metaphors, to let nurses realize the cost of struggling with psychological distress often create more distress; 3. experiential exercises, to guide nurses to notice their own experiences in providing nursing care throughout their nursing career and explore any special qualities; 4. explore the nurses' values with respect to different areas in their lives.

Treatment:

Behavioral: ACT