The efficacy of the internet-based stress recovery intervention FOREST for nurses amid the COVID-19 pandemic: A randomized controlled trialShow others and affiliations
2023 (English)In: International Journal of Nursing Studies, ISSN 0020-7489, E-ISSN 1873-491X, Vol. 138, article id 104408Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic demanded exceptional physical and mental effort from healthcare workers worldwide. Since healthcare workers often refrain from seeking professional psychological support, internet-delivered interventions could serve as a viable alternative option.Objective: We aimed to investigate the effects of a therapist-guided six-week CBT-based internet-delivered stress recovery intervention among medical nurses using a randomized controlled trial design. We also aimed to assess program usability.Methods: 168 nurses working in a healthcare setting (Mage = 42.12, SDage = 11.38; 97 % female) were included in the study. The intervention group included 77 participants, and the waiting list control group had 91 participants. Self-report data were collected online at three timepoints: pre-test, post-test, and three-month follow-up. The primary outcome was stress recovery. Secondary outcomes included measures of perceived stress, anxiety and depression symptoms, psychological well-being, posttraumatic stress and complex posttraumatic stress symp-toms, and moral injury.Results: We found that the stress recovery intervention FOREST improved stress recovery, including psychologi-cal detachment (d = 0.83 [0.52; 1.15]), relaxation (d = 0.93 [0.61, 1.25]), mastery (d = 0.64 [0.33; 0.95]), and control (d = 0.46 [0.15; 0.76]). The effects on psychological detachment, relaxation, and mastery remained stable at the three month follow-up. The intervention was also effective in reducing its users stress (d = -0.49 [-0.80;-0.18]), anxiety symptoms (d = -0.31 [-0.62;-0.01]), depression symptoms (d = -0.49 [-0.80;-0.18]) and increasing psychological well-being (d = 0.53 [0.23; 0.84]) with the effects on perceived stress, depression symptoms, and well-being remaining stable at the three-month follow-up. High user satisfac-tion and good usability of the intervention were also reported.Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that an internet-bas ed intervention for healthcare staff could increase stress recovery skills, promote psychological well-being, and reduce stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms, with most of the effects being stable over three months.Trial registration: NCT04817995 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04817995). Registration date: March 30, 2021. Date of first recruitment: April 1, 2021.(c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD , 2023. Vol. 138, article id 104408
Keywords [en]
Efficacy; Internet-based intervention; Nurses; RCT; Stress recovery
National Category
Applied Psychology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-191171DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2022.104408ISI: 000906329100001PubMedID: 36527859OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-191171DiVA, id: diva2:1729918
Note
Funding Agencies|European Regional Development Fund [01.2.2-LMT-K-718-03-0072]; Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT)
2023-01-232023-01-232024-04-16