The purpose of this research is to develop a mobile app-based intervention to reduce burnout and improve well-being using human-centered design principles and stakeholder feedback.
Recent studies of professional burnout among physicians have highlighted urology as a worrisome outlier: 39% of practicing urologists and 64% of urology residents reported high levels of depersonalization and emotional exhaustion. Despite the known association of burnout with adverse clinical outcomes, psychological distress, and career dissatisfaction, rigorous studies of physician-focused interventions remain limited. Pilot studies of well-being mobile applications (e.g. headspace ®) have demonstrated better outcomes compared to traditionally delivered mindfulness interventions (e.g. in-person guided meditation). Nevertheless, a rigorous assessment of the impact of an app-based intervention on burnout is needed. Therefore, the present study will assess the effectivity of a mobile app-based intervention to reduce burnout among healthcare professionals.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
66
A mobile-application ("app") focusing on teaching and sustaining mental well-being.
Mayo Clinic in Rochester
Rochester, Minnesota, United States
Change in burnout syndrome
Burnout levels among study population will be screened using the single-item burnout assessment tool for health care workers (West, Dyrbye, et.al. 2012) and the Professional Fulfillment Index (Trockel, et.al. 2018) . The single-item burnout tool has 2 questions with a 7-point Likert-type, frequency response scale (0 = never, 1 = a few times a year or less, 2 = once a month or less, 3 = a few times a month, 4 = once a week, 5 = a few times a week, 6 = every day) and cutoff values of 27 and 10 points, respectively. The Professional Fulfillment Index scales the answers of the items 7 to 16 from 0 to 4 (0 = not at all, 1 = very little, 2 = moderately, 3 = a lot, 4 = extremely) with a cutoff value of 1.33 points.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
Change in professional fulfillment
Baseline professional fulfillment levels among study population will be screened using the 16-item Professional Fulfillment Index (Trockel, et.al. 2018) scaling the answers 1 to 6 from 0 to 4 (0 = not at all, 1 = somewhat true, 2 = moderately, 3 = very true, 4 = completely true) with a cutoff value of 3 points.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
User engagement metrics
App-usage metrics will be characterized (user's platform usage), tracked continuously and compared between the intervention and control groups from baseline to follow-up phase (Week 24)
Time frame: Through study completion, approx. 24 weeks
Qualitative knowledge and experience with app-based mindfulness practices
Subject qualitative knowledge will measured by a self-reported questionnaire which asks participants to describe their previous experiences with well-being apps
Time frame: 24 Weeks
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