ABSTRACT
AIMS: To determine whether an educational programme targeting the reaction of veterinary personnel to difficult client interactions reduced burden transfer, stress and burnout in veterinary staff. METHODS: Employees of three small-animal veterinary hospitals in the south-western United States of America were recruited and randomised to intervention (educational programme; n = 16) or control (no intervention; n = 18) groups. Participants of this randomised, parallel arms trial completed pre-programme assessment including the Burden Transfer Inventory (BTI), Perceived Stress Scale, and Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. Assessment was followed by two, group-format educational sessions, based on acceptance and commitment training, tailored to reducing reactivity to difficult veterinary client interactions (intervention group only). After training was completed, both groups were assessed using the same measures and the intervention participants provided use and acceptability ratings. RESULTS: Intervention participants rated the programme as useful and appropriate, and reported that programme techniques were used a median of 43 (min 9, max 68) times during the 2 weeks prior to retesting. Relative to pre-programme scores, median post-programme scores for reaction (subscore of BTI) to difficult client interactions decreased in the intervention group (33 vs. 54; p = 0.047), but not in the control group (51 vs. 59; p = 0.210). Changes in median scores for stress and burnout from pre- to post-programme were non-significant for both groups. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot and feasibility trial showed high rates of acceptability and use by participants, as well as promising reductions in burden transfer. A larger scale clinical trial with follow-up at extended time points is needed to more fully examine the efficacy of this novel programme. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Preliminary findings suggest this programme may be a useful approach to reducing occupational distress for individuals working in veterinary practice.
Subject(s)
Burnout, Professional , Veterinarians , Humans , Burnout, Professional/prevention & control , Pilot Projects , Veterinarians/psychologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to test whether pre-treatment levels of psychological flexibility would longitudinally predict quality of life and eating disorder risk in patients at a residential treatment facility for eating disorders. METHOD: Data on body image psychological flexibility, quality of life, and eating disorder risk were collected from 63 adolescent and 50 adult, female, residential patients (N=113) diagnosed with an eating disorder. These same measures were again collected at post-treatment. Sequential multiple regression analyses were performed to test whether pre-treatment levels of psychological flexibility longitudinally predicted quality of life and eating disorder risk after controlling for age and baseline effects. RESULTS: Pre-treatment psychological flexibility significantly predicted post-treatment quality of life with approximately 19% of the variation being attributable to age and pre-treatment psychological flexibility. Pre-treatment psychological flexibility also significantly predicted post-treatment eating disorder risk with nearly 30% of the variation attributed to age and pre-treatment psychological flexibility. DISCUSSION: This study suggests that levels of psychological flexibility upon entering treatment for an eating disorder longitudinally predict eating disorder outcome and quality of life.
Subject(s)
Body Image/psychology , Feeding and Eating Disorders/therapy , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Feeding and Eating Disorders/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Quality of Life , Residential Facilities , Risk , Young AdultABSTRACT
This study examined the effect of tic-related talk on the vocal and motor tics of 2 boys with Tourette's syndrome. Using ABAB withdrawal designs, the boys were alternately exposed to conditions with and without talk of their tics. For both boys, vocal tics markedly increased when talk pertained to tics and decreased when talk did not pertain to tics, but motor tic covariance was less consistent.
Subject(s)
Tics/psychology , Tourette Syndrome/psychology , Verbal Behavior , Child , Habits , Humans , Male , Observer Variation , Severity of Illness Index , Tics/diagnosis , Tics/epidemiology , Tourette Syndrome/diagnosis , Tourette Syndrome/epidemiologyABSTRACT
In this study, habit reversal was evaluated as a treatment for skin picking in typically developing adult male siblings using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants design. Results showed socially valid decreases in reported picking as a result of treatment.
Subject(s)
Habits , Touch , Adult , Humans , Male , Self-Injurious Behavior/prevention & control , SkinABSTRACT
The effectiveness of habit reversal was compared across three different competing response (CR) durations. Results showed that 1-min and 3-min CR durations were associated with short-term and long-term increases in nail length for people who bit their nails. A 5-s CR duration produced immediate increases in nail length that were not maintained. Social validity data were consistent with these findings.
