Resilience Training for Work-related Stress in Employees and the Influence of the Lecture Format on Training Success

ARCIM Institute Academic Research in Complementary and Integrative Medicine90 enrolled

Overview

A study to analyze the psychophysiological effects of a preventative, 4-week resilience training with mobile heart rate variability biofeedback (HRV-BfB) in a workplace setting and the influence of the lecture format (digital vs. live) on the training success.

This was a three-arm, non-randomized, controlled trial to examine the effects of a preventative, 4-week resilience training with mobile HRV-BfB on work-related stress in white-collar employees. Participants were asked to exercise autonomously three times per day for five minutes with the mobile HRV-BfB device. They additionally attended three lectures at the beginning of the first, third, and forth week. The aim of the lectures was to mediate a theoretical knowledge and to prepare the participants for the autonomous training. To examine the potential influence of the lecture format, one group attended live lectures (blended learning condition) and one group received access to online lectures (e-learning condition). Results of study's outcome measures were compared with a waitlist control group. Outcome measures were assessed at baseline (T0), after the 4-week intervention (T1), and at 4-week follow-up (T2).

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Work-Related Stress Burnout

Interventions

Resilience training with mobile HRV-BfB based on an e-learning approach (with digital lectures)OTHER

A 4-week resilience training with a mobile HRV-BfB device. Participants received access to three online lectures at the start of the first, third, and forth training week (each lasting 60 minutes) to receive a theoretical base on resilience and to learn how to exercise with the HRV-BfB device. Participants were asked to exercise three times a day for 5 minutes in their occupational and leisure time with the HRV-BfB device.

Resilience training with mobile HRV-BfB based on a blended learning approach (with live lectures)OTHER

A 4-week resilience training with a mobile HRV-BfB device. Participants attended three live lectures at the start of the first, third, and forth training week (each lasting 90 minutes) to receive a theoretical base on resilience and to learn how to exercise with the HRV-BfB device. Participants were asked to exercise three times a day for 5 minutes in their occupational and leisure time with the HRV-BfB device.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Written informed consent * Employees of the company at which the study is conducted Exclusion Criteria: * Implanted pacemaker * Medically diagnosed heart failure or arrhythmia * Medically prescribed cardiac drugs (e.g., beta-blockers, diuretics, ACE inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, or antiarrhythmic agents)

Locations (1)

Arcim Institute

Filderstadt, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

COPSOQ personal burnout after the intervention

Personal burnout was assessed with the adapted German long version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) at T1. Six questions were answered on an ordinal scale, transformed to values ranging between 0=minimum value and 100=maximum value (higher values indicate a more severe burnout symptomatology) and averaged to obtain a scale score (0-100).

Time frame: After the 4-week intervention (T1)

Secondary Outcomes

Change in the COPSOQ scale personal burnout between baseline (T0) and 4-week follow-up (T2)

Personal burnout was assessed with the adapted German long version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) at T0 and T2. Six questions were answered on an ordinal scale, transformed to values ranging between 0=minimum value and 100=maximum value (higher values indicate a more severe burnout symptomatology) and averaged to obtain a scale score (0-100).

Time frame: Baseline (T0) and 4-week follow-up (T2)

Change in the COPSOQ scale subjective general health between baseline (T0), after the 4-week intervention (T1), and 4-week follow-up (T2)

The subjective general health was assessed with the adapted German long version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ, originally derived from the EQ-5D) at T0, T1, and T2 (single question). The question was transformed to a scale ranging from 0=minimum value to 100=maximum value (lower values indicate a worse general health).