Integrative Medicine for Hospital Workers Exposed to War

Assessing the Impact of Integrative Medicine on Anxiety and Wellbeing of Hospital Workers Exposed Directly or Indirectly to Terror, Trauma or War

During the "Iron Swords" war in Israel in 2023, the residents of the Gaza Strip and the surrounding area, along with the soldiers of the security service, were exposed to a very high intensity of trauma. Added to this is an extensive cycle of trauma for those who were directly and indirectly exposed to loss and terror throughout the country. Medical teams in the hospitals and in the community were exposed with the highest intensity to these traumatic aspects which were amplified by the collapse of many of the resilience and mental health centers in the south.

An integrative medicine treatment clinic was established at the Bnai Zion Medical Center for the purpose of providing a response to all hospital employees who are exposed and will be exposed (directly or indirectly) to the wounded and patients expressing trauma, including symptoms of acute stress disorder, as a result of war and terrorism. Hospital employees are invited to register for complementary medicine treatments on the hospital's website according to indications that include anxiety, emotional distress and/or typical Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) symptoms, including physical distress (such as pain, breathing disorder, digestive system symptoms, exhaustion, etc.). The employees are treated by a team from the system for integrative medicine, including practitioners of acupuncture; touch/movement techniques (for example, qigong, reflexology, shiatsu) or mind-body medicine (for example, relaxation and breathing exercises) and may include one or more of the above 3 treatment areas.

In the proposed study, the investigators plan to examine the effect of these treatments on various symptoms experienced by hospital employees during this period.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Anxiety
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Integrative medicine

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 500
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Samuel Attias, PhD; Phone Number: 972-52-4707304; Email: samuel.attias@b-zion.org.il

Study Locations

• Israel
  • Haifa, Israel, 3339419
    • Recruiting
    • Bnai Zion Medical Center
    • Contact: Miriam Goldberg; Phone Number: 972-50-6432872; Email: miriam.goldberg@b-zion.org.il
    • Principal Investigator: Samuel Attias, PhD
    • Sub-Investigator: Ilana Levy Yurkovski, MD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Hospital employees
• Anxiety, emotional distress and/or typical ASD symptoms directly or indirectly related to exposure to the trauma of terrorism or war

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

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: Integrative medicine; The employees are treated by a team from the system for integrative medicine, including practitioners of acupuncture; touch/movement techniques (for example, qigong, reflexology, shiatsu) or mind-body medicine (for example, relaxation and breathing exercises) and may include one or more of the above 3 treatment areas.	Other: Integrative medicine; Acupuncture; touch/movement techniques (for example, qigong, reflexology, shiatsu) and/or mind-body medicine (for example, relaxation and breathing exercises)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Symptom relief	Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing (MYCAW) questionnaire: minimum value: 0; maximum value: 6; higher score means worse outcome.	Before intervention; 24 hours after intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Stress and anxiety	Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) questionnaire: minimum value: 0; maximum value: 63; higher score means worse outcome.	Before intervention; 4 to 8 weeks after intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Bnai Zion Medical Center
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Samuel Attias, PhD, Complementary Medicine Service

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 21, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 20, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 20, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): January 5, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 10, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 8, 2024
• Last Verified: December 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Anxiety; Integrative medicine; Acute Stress Disorder; War; Hospital workers
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Anxiety Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: 0105-23-BNZ

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

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