Better Together: Long-term Behaviors and Perspectives after a Practitioner-Family Writing Intervention in Clinical Practice.

BACKGROUND: An expressive writing intervention, the Three-minute Mental Makeover (3MMM), was previously associated with reduced stress for practitioners, patients, and families. The goal of this follow-up study was to evaluate long-term use of writing and perspectives after participation in the 3MMM. METHODS: The original study involved patients and families in the neonatal and pediatric Intensive Care Units, inpatient units, and outpatient clinics of a children's hospital. Health-care practitioners led the intervention, writing concurrently with patients and families using the 3MMM intervention. Follow-up contact by phone was attempted for all original patient/family participants 12 to 18 months after completing the exercise. Practitioners were contacted via email 24 months after the original study. Participants were surveyed about the 3MMM and continued use of writing to cope with stressful situations. Original and follow-up survey responses were compared using the Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS: Of the 96 original patient/family members, 61 individuals were reached, remembered the 3MMM, and agreed to participate in the follow-up study. Among the 61 participants, 52 (85%) agreed that the 3MMM had been helpful. Thirty-six (59%) reported using writing to help cope with stress at follow-up, compared to only 23 (38%) at baseline (P = 0.005). The majority of clinicians (87%) also continued to use the 3MMM in clinical practice following the original 3MMM study period and ranked it as both feasible (75%) and worth the time investment (75%). CONCLUSION: The 3MMM demonstrated long-term perceived benefits and behavior changes. Findings provide preliminary support for using the 3MMM in routine clinical practice.

Health Care Practitioners and Families Writing Together: The Three-Minute Mental Makeover.

INTRODUCTION: Expressive writing, the process of self-expression through writing, appears to have beneficial effects. Our hospital's narrative medicine group developed an expressive writing tool, the Three-Minute Mental Makeover (3MMM). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of the 3MMM to reduce stress and optimize communication between health care practitioners and their patients/families. METHODS: Patients and families were recruited from a Chicago-area children's hospital from December 2016 through July 2017, from the neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, inpatient pediatric unit, and outpatient pediatric clinics. Health care practitioners included a pediatric cardiologist, pediatric residents, child development specialists, and pediatric nurses. Practitioner and patient family participants completed prestudy and poststudy surveys to assess perceived stress and communication levels. Using a standardized script, practitioners led the 3MMM activity, writing concurrently with patients/families. Participants then shared their responses. Presurvey and postsurvey data were compared using nonparametric tests. RESULTS: Eight practitioners led 96 patient/family members in 3MMM activities and study surveys. At baseline, all patients, family members, and practitioners reported experiencing 1 or more symptoms of stress. After participating in the 3MMM, patients/family members and practitioners reported reduced stress compared with baseline (p < 0.001). A significant improvement in communication was reported by practitioners (p < 0.001). Eighty-eight percent of patients/families reported that the 3MMM activity was helpful, even though only 35% had used writing or journaling in the past. CONCLUSION: The 3MMM is a short writing exercise that reduces stress for practitioners, patients, and families. Future studies may help determine long-term effects of the 3MMM.