Qualitative evaluation of a brief positive psychological online intervention for nursing staff.

AIM: The aim of this study is to evaluate a brief positive psychological intervention with regard to the mental health of nursing staff in German hospitals. It addresses the question of how positive-psychological online exercises should be designed. BACKGROUND: Nurses in hospitals are known to suffer from mental strain and risk depressive as well as anxiety disorders. The covid-19-pandemic leads to a further aggravation of the situation. Opposed to that, positive psychological interventions can increase resilience by promoting self-management competences and mental strength. RESEARCH METHODS: A 90 min positive-psychological workshop was conducted with six nurses who worked in German hospitals. It consisted of imparting knowledge on positive psychology and learning different positive psychological practices. Afterwards, guideline-based interviews were conducted with six nurses. The outcomes of interest were how the intervention was evaluated, to what extent the intervention led to a reflection and a promotion of self-management competences and whether it allowed the participants to transfer the learnings into everyday life. RESULTS: The intervention led to a reflection of the application competence of positive-psychological techniques by the participating nurses. A promotion of the competences could not be reached. Especially the reflection and promotion of humour competence manifested itself as difficult. CONCLUSION: Despite its short-term nature, the online intervention resulted in a reflection of the nurses' application competence of positive psychology indicating its resource-promoting potential. Follow-up exercises or peer groups should be used for further development, while a training of humour competence might be part of a separate intervention.

Does an Online Positive Psychological Intervention Improve Positive Affect in Young Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Meta-analyses indicate that positive psychological interventions are effective at increasing positive affect, as well as reducing anxiety and depression; however, it is unclear how well these effects generalize during periods of high stress. Therefore, the current study tested whether a 2-week online positive psychological intervention delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic, a naturalistic stressor, (1) increased positive affect; (2) improved psychological well-being, optimism, life satisfaction, perceived social support, and loneliness; (3) and reduced negative affect in college students, a group known to have high pandemic distress. Participants (N = 250; 76.9% female) ages 18-45 were recruited from the University of Pittsburgh undergraduate subject pool between September and November of 2020. Participants were randomized to the online positive psychological intervention or active control condition and stratified by trait positive affect, sex, and year in college. Participants in both conditions completed one writing activity every other day for two consecutive weeks. Control participants documented their activities for that day (e.g., meals, going to gym). Intervention participants chose from six positive psychology activities. All outcome variables were assessed pre- and post-intervention by validated questionnaires. Across both conditions, positive and negative affect decreased from pre- to post-intervention. No other psychological factor differed by condition, time, or their interaction. The current null findings are in line with a more recent meta-analysis indicating that positive psychological interventions may have smaller effects on psychological well-being and depressive symptoms than was reported pre-pandemic. Study findings may suggest reduced efficacy of virtual positive psychological interventions under highly stressful circumstances. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-022-00148-z.