Effect of a Life Coaching Intervention on the Well-being and Distress of Physicians

Effect of a Life Coaching Intervention on the Well-being and Distress of Physicians: A Randomized Clinical Trial

There is a widespread epidemic of distress and burnout (i.e., extreme distress) among Canadian physicians. Burnout is costly to physicians, patients, and healthcare organizations as it compromises physicians' own health and reduces their capacity to deliver high quality, safe care to patients. Life coaching delivered by certified coaches is a personal development tool. Life coaching has been proven to help individuals maximize their strengths and skills to handle stressors, regain control over their lives, act according to their core values, and achieve their full potential, consequently reducing their vulnerability to burnout. The investigators will evaluate life coaching for physicians' well-being in the current Canadian context. Physicians from centres in Canada will be randomly assigned to life coaching (intervention) or no coaching (control) group. The coaching group will receive a 1-hour initial coaching session followed by five 30-minute coaching sessions occurring at a frequency of every 2 to 3 weeks within 5 months (total of 3.5 coaching hours). All coaching sessions will be delivered virtually by certified life coaches. The investigators will assess the impact of coaching on physician distress and quality of life before and after the intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Burnout; Distress, Emotional
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Life Coaching

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 180
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Sylvain Boet, MD, PhD; Phone Number: 78187 613-737-8899; Email: sboet@toh.ca
• Study Contact Backup: Name: YeonJung Yoo, MPH; Phone Number: 613-798-5555; Email: yyoo@ohri.ca

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Ontario
    • Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1Y4E9
      • Recruiting
      • The Ottawa Hospital
      • Contact: Sylvain Boet, MD, PhD; Phone Number: 78187 613-798-8899; Email: sboet@toh.on.ca
      • Contact: YeonJung Yoo, MPH; Phone Number: 14775 613-798-5555

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Registered staff physician, resident, or fellow
• Currently practicing in Canada
• (For the 'Francophone minority patients' group only) Sometimes conducts thorough consultations completely in French for French-speaking patients outside Quebec

Exclusion Criteria:

• Previously received life coaching in the last 5 years
• Currently receiving psychotherapy

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Coaching; Participants randomized to the coaching group will receive a 1-hour initial professional coaching session followed by five 30-minute professional coaching sessions occurring at a goal frequency of every 2 to 3 weeks within 5 months (total of 3.5 coaching hours). All coaching sessions will be conducted individually (i.e. between one coach and one participant). Participants will be able to request coaching on any topic to individualize the intervention, but the general structure of the sessions will be standardized across participants. All coaching sessions will be performed over the phone or virtual web meeting as standard in coaching practices.	Behavioral: Life Coaching; Sessions with a professional life coach.
No Intervention: Control; Participants randomized to the control group will receive "no intervention" but will be asked to complete the distress and wellness survey at the same time points as participants in the intervention group. Participants in the control group will receive the life coaching intervention after the statistical analysis is completed.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Quality of Life score at 5 months	Assessed using the reduced version of the World Health Organization (WHO) Quality of Life (QOL) questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF), one of the most widely used questionnaires for assessing adult QOL, including among healthcare professionals.	5 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Burnout score at 5 months	Measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Minimum score 0, maximum score 132. A higher score is worse, i.e., more burnout.	5 months
Change in Resilience score at 5 months	Measured using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Sale. Minimum score 0, maximum score 100. A higher score is better, i.e., more resilience.	5 months
Change in Job Satisfaction score at 5 months	Measured using the Global Job Satisfaction subscale of the Physician Job Satisfaction Scale. Minimum score 12, maximum score 60. A higher score is better, i.e., more satisfied.	5 months
Change in Job Engagement score at 5 months	Measured using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Minimum score 0, maximum score 102. A higher score is better, i.e., better engagement.	5 months
Change in Job Empowerment and Meaning score at 5 months	Measured using the Empowerment at Work Scale. Minimum score is 12, maximum score is 84. A higher score is better, i.e., higher empowerment.	Baseline and 5 months
Absence from work due to mental or physical illness	Measured as the number of days reported by participants.	Baseline
Absence from work due to mental or physical illness	Measured as the number of days reported by participants.	5 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
• Collaborators: University of Ottawa; Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sylvain Boet, MD, PhD, The Ottawa Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 14, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): November 22, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 28, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 29, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 25, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): December 8, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 7, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 4, 2023
• Last Verified: November 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Stress, Psychological; Burnout, Psychological
• Other Study ID Numbers: 20210617-01H

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No