Clinical Leader Series: A Virtual Mental Well-being Initiative for Nurse Leaders During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond.

OBJECTIVE: A virtual mental well-being initiative was developed for nurse leaders to provide education about mental health and to teach self-care skills. BACKGROUND: Because of substantial demand placed on nurse leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations must address stress and burnout by providing a continuum of care to include education, support, and intervention. METHODS: All levels of nurse leaders at a multicampus healthcare system were invited to attend. Data were collected on coping, empowerment, burnout, and quality of life. Participant responses to discussion prompts were compiled and reviewed. RESULTS: Although the independent parallel comparison did not show significant improvements, scores on the coping, empowerment, burnout, and quality-of-life measures were maintained. Discussion prompts yielded valuable insights into nurse leader experiences and session effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS: This type of education, as well as psychological support, will continue to be needed after the pandemic due to burnout, moral injury, and primary or secondary trauma. Findings are applicable to future crisis situations.

Mental health of Filipino seafarers and its implications for seafarers' education.

This narrative review examines current academic literature on the mental health of Filipino seafarers working internationally, including the mental health effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Framed within a rights-based approach, it aims to identify and analyse emerging themes on Filipino seafarers' mental health literature to understand what these studies potentially mean for the improvement of seafarers' education on mental health. Based on a broad selection criteria, 28 eligible papers demonstrate collectively three key findings: firstly, there is paucity in published research on seafarers' mental health; secondly, the majority of published studies are associated with a recent piracy crisis, where a significant number of mariners were attacked, taken as hostages, or killed; thirdly, three key areas emerged under which research on Filipino seafarers' mental health can be organized: the medical repatriation of seafarers, system of care for the mental health of seafarers including the diagnostic standards used, and seafarers' experiences and conceptions of mental health including the mental health effects of COVID-19. Though the bulk of the current understanding of the mental health problems is associated with piracy, several risk factors for which the quality of quantitative and qualitative evidence are patchy. The few sources of primary data to date lack focus on mental health needs which makes it difficult to grasp the extent of the problem. Developing policies and programmes for the promotion of mental health through mental health education among seafarers is important for a couple of reasons. Seafaring remains a dangerous and socially isolating occupation where work-related accidents are likely and will be potentially traumatic to mariners. Research on occupational stressors is increasingly providing evidence of their contributions to poor mental health outcomes among seafarers. Thus, mental health education of seafarers in the context of their work is important for proactive training and development.

Impact of a Resiliency Training to Support the Mental Well-being of Front-line Workers: Brief Report of a Quasi-experimental Study of the Community Resiliency Model.

BACKGROUND: Front-line workers (FLW) are at risk for secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and related psychiatric sequelae: depression, anxiety, suicidality, posttraumatic stress disorder, and sleep and substance use disorders. FLW are in need of self-care programs to support their mental health. METHODS: Quasi-experimental study to assess the impact of a simple mental well-being and emotional regulation training, the Community Resiliency Model (CRM), using a convenience sample of FLW. Baseline scores of mental well-being and stress measures were compared with follow-up scores at 3 time points. Outcomes were psychological wellness (World Health Organization-5 Well-being Index); resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10); traumatic stress (Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale); physical symptoms (Somatic Symptom Scale-8). RESULTS: Of the 104 participants who enrolled and attended the CRM training, 73 (70.2%) completed at least 1 posttest. Well-being scores increased at 1 year with a small-moderate effect size (Cohen d=0.32). Resilience scores increased with a small-moderate effect size by 1 year (Cohen d=0.36). Secondary traumatic stress scores declined, with the largest effect at 1 week (Cohen d=0.49). Somatic symptoms decreased at each posttest, with the largest change occurring from baseline to 1 week (d=0.39). Participants reported an awareness of body sensations helped them when overwhelmed as a means of calming themselves. CONCLUSIONS: After a 3-hour CRM training, participants reported improved mental well-being and decreased secondary traumatic stress and somatic symptoms. This simple body awareness intervention may be a good resource during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Philosophy for children and mindfulness during COVID-19: Results from a randomized cluster trial and impact on mental health in elementary school students.

BACKGROUND: Preliminary evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on children's mental health. Given these problems can have significant impacts throughout the lifespan, preventing the negative repercussions of COVID-19 on children's mental health is essential. Philosophy for children (P4C) and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) show promise in this regard. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the present study was to compare the impact of online MBI and P4C interventions on mental health, within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a randomized cluster trial to assess and compare the impact of both interventions on elementary school students' (N = 37) anxiety and inattention symptoms as well as on their basic psychological need satisfaction (BPN). RESULTS: ANCOVAs revealed a significant effect of the P4C intervention on mental health difficulties, controlling for baseline levels. Participants in the P4C group showed lower scores on the measured symptoms at post-test than participants in the MBI group. Significant effects of the MBI on levels of BPN were also found. Participants in the MBI intervention reported greater BPN satisfaction at post-test than participants in the P4C intervention. CONCLUSION: Results from this study suggest that, in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, a P4C intervention centered around COVID-19 related themes may be helpful to reduce mental health difficulties, that a MBI may be useful to satisfy BPN, and that both interventions were easy to offer online to elementary school students. Future work including a larger sample size and follow-up measures is warranted. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: Practice: Philosophy for children (P4C) and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) can be used to foster mental health in elementary school students, in the current COVID-19 context. Policy: As we do not anticipate that facilitators will be allowed in schools during the 2020-2021 school year and that children will, most likely, be attending school in the current COVID-19 context, policymakers who want to implement psychological support measures in elementary schools should consider an online modality, which has shown in this study to work well, be feasible, and yield positive results on youth mental health.