The efficacy of the internet-based stress recovery intervention FOREST for nurses amid the COVID-19 pandemic: A randomized controlled trial.
Int J Nurs Stud
; 138: 104408, 2023 Feb.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2122525
ABSTRACT
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 (Mageâ¯=â¯42.12, SDageâ¯=â¯11.38; 97â¯% 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 symptoms, and moral injury.RESULTS:
We found that the stress recovery intervention FOREST improved stress recovery, including psychological detachment (dâ¯=â¯0.83 [0.52; 1.15]), relaxation (dâ¯=â¯0.93 [0.61, 1.25]), mastery (dâ¯=â¯0.64 [0.33; 0.95]), and control (dâ¯=â¯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 (dâ¯=â¯-0.49 [-0.80; -0.18]), anxiety symptoms (dâ¯=â¯-0.31 [-0.62; -0.01]), depression symptoms (dâ¯=â¯-0.49 [-0.80; -0.18]) and increasing psychological well-being (dâ¯=â¯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 satisfaction and good usability of the intervention were also reported.CONCLUSIONS:
The present study demonstrated that an internet-based 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.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
/
Internet-Based Intervention
/
COVID-19
/
Nurses
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Adult
/
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Int J Nurs Stud
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS