Evaluation of Mind-body Educational Program to Enhance Resiliency and Reduce Burnout in First Year Residents

This prospective pilot study evaluated the benefits of a stress management and resiliency training program for residents (SMART-R).

The primary objective of this study is to determine whether the SMART-R effectively reduces burnout and stress and enhances coping skills in first year residents. Objective parameters (heart rate, galvanized skin response, sleep duration and quality, exercise and actigraphy) measured with the Basis health tracking device will help correlate objective signs to subjective report of stress.

The investigators' hypothesis is that the SMART-R, a curriculum designed to teach first year residents (in the department of Medicine and Psychiatry) relaxation skills, will enhance residents' emotional and physical well being, reduce reports of stress, anxiety, depression, and physical complaints, as well as increase overall resiliency.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Stress
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Stress Management and Resiliency Training for Residents (SMART-R)

Detailed Description

The SMART-R has been developed by the Benson-Henry Institute (BHI) of Mind Body Medicine and is aimed at reducing the impact of stress through a variety of skill building exercises. The exercises incorporated into the program have been shown to improve physical symptoms, mood and wellbeing in medical patient populations. However, very little work has focused on healthcare providers, and there are no studies that look at mindfulness interventions for resident physicians specifically.

Participants enrolled will be invited to complete a set of questionnaire before and after participation in the program. The investigators will also collect continuous physiologic data using the Basis Peak Health Tracking device to correlate the physiologic data with self-report measures of stress.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 85
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114
      • MGH department of medicine and department of psychiatry

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 21 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Massachusetts General Hospital first year resident in Department of Medicine or Department of Psychiatry
• 21 years of age or older
• consenting to participate in 3RP-1

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: First Year Residents; Stress Management and Resiliency Training for Residents (SMART-R) delivered to first year residents in the departments of medicine and psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital	Behavioral: Stress Management and Resiliency Training for Residents (SMART-R); The SMART-R is a mind-body Educational Program for residents that is aimed at reducing the impact of stress and enhancing coping strategies through skill building exercises. The intervention consists of 3, 2 hour sessions over the course of 12 months.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in burnout levels post intervention	Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), a validated 22-item self-report measure of professional burnout in human services. The MBI consists of 3 subscales of burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low sense of personal accomplishment.	change between baseline (week 0) and post intervention (week 52)
Change in perceived stress post intervention	Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10)	change between baseline (week 0) and post intervention (week 52)
Change in continuous physiologic data throughout intervention	Basis Peak Health Tracking device collects continuous physiologic data (heart rate, galvanized skin response, sleep duration and quality, exercise and actigraphy)	change between baseline (week 0) and post intervention (week 52)
change in coping abilities post intervention	Measure of Coping Status-Revised (MOCS-R)	change between baseline (week 0) and post intervention (week 52)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
change in self-reported anxiety and depression	Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item	change between baseline (week 0) and post intervention (week 52)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: John Denninger, M.D./PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: April 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2015
• Study Completion (Actual): July 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 14, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 1, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): December 4, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): December 4, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 1, 2015
• Last Verified: December 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: stress management; mind/body medicine; 3RP; resident burnout
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Stress, Psychological; Burnout, Psychological
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2014P000234