Development and Validation of Single-Session Digital Self-Guided Intervention to Prevent Burnout & Improve Wellness

Development and Validation of an Evidence-Based, Self-Guided, Single Session Digital Intervention to Prevent Workplace Burnout & Enhance Psychological Wellness

This study develops and evaluates a self-guided digital single-session mental health intervention designed to reduce workplace burnout and enhance psychological well-being among employed Canadian adults. Workplace burnout, characterized by emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy, affects approximately 40% of Canadian employees and leads to increased absenteeism, reduced productivity, and higher disability claims. Traditional mental health supports face barriers including long wait times, stigma, and accessibility issues. Single-Session Interventions (SSIs) offer a practical, cost-effective, and scalable complement to traditional services.

This is a randomized, double-arm, online trial. Participants are recruited via Prolific and randomly assigned (1:1) to either the experimental single-session burnout intervention or an active control condition focused on creative writing. The intervention focuses on its unique delivery of content focused on the evidence-based techniques, such as cognitive reframing, stress management, and behavioural strategies. The active control matches the intervention in length, structure, and user experience but omits the specific therapeutic ingredients.

All procedures are conducted entirely online through Qualtrics. Participants are compensated for their participation. Participants complete three sessions over approximately 30 days:

A baseline survey (about 10 minutes); A program session and immediate follow-up (about 40 minutes); And a 30-day follow-up survey (about 10 minutes).

Outcome measures include burnout (MBI-16), perceived stress (PSS-10), depressive symptoms (PHQ-8), anxiety (GAD-7), general health (GHQ-12), well-being (WHO-5), work engagement (UWES-3), readiness to change, perceived impact, and program feedback/acceptability. Main outcomes are examined using mixed-effects linear regression with a participant-level random intercept to test the group × time interaction across baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Burnout, Professionals; Wellness, Psychological
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Single-Session Intervention to Prevent Burnout & Enhance Psychological Wellness; Behavioral: Creative Writing

Detailed Description

This study is a randomized, double-arm, online clinical trial evaluating a self-guided, single-session digital intervention for burnout in employed adults. The research is conducted as part of a Ph.D. dissertation of Ehsan Etezad, PhD Candidate in Applied Organizational Psychology at Saint Mary's University under the supervision of Dr. John Fiset (faculty member at Saint Mary's University), with co-investigator Dr. Raghid Al-Hajj (Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait).

The intervention was developed based on a comprehensive systematic review (Phase 1 of the dissertation) that screened 2,349 records and included 27 final studies examining self-guided digital mental health interventions. The design and content of the current intervention are grounded in the best practices identified through that systematic review.

Participants are recruited through Prolific, a third-party online survey panel designed for academic research. The research team posts a study listing that includes a brief description, estimated completion time, compensation, and general eligibility requirements. All recruitment occurs through the Prolific platform with no direct contact between investigators and potential participants.

Eligible participants are presented with an electronic informed consent form describing study procedures, expected time commitment, risks and benefits, confidentiality, voluntary participation, and contact information for the study team and local crisis resources. Consented participants complete a baseline assessment comprising demographic questions and validated outcome measures.

After baseline assessment, participants are randomized (1:1) to the experimental intervention or the active control. Allocation is concealed from participants until they begin their assigned module. The active control condition matches the intervention arm in length, structure, and user experience while intentionally omitting the specific therapeutic ingredients. The active control focuses on creative writing and is non-therapeutic, ensuring that any observed effects can be attributed to the intervention's active components rather than general factors such as time spent, format, attention, or digital engagement. After completing the T3 follow-up survey, all participants in the active control group receive access to the full intervention to ensure equitable access to the intervention's potential benefits.

Data collection occurs at three time points: T1 (baseline), T2 (immediately post-intervention), and T3 (30-day follow-up). The full outcome battery is completed at baseline and immediately post-intervention; follow-up assessments repeat all primary and secondary outcomes to evaluate maintenance of intervention effects.

The main outcomes (burnout, stress, depression, anxiety, wellness, engagement) are examined using mixed-effects linear regression with a participant-level random intercept to test the group × time interaction across baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up. The main comparison focuses on the change from baseline to immediate post-intervention between the two study arms.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 250
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Ehsan Etezad; Phone Number: 902-420-5400; Email: ehsan@ehsanetezad.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 19 years of age or older
• Currently employed full-time
• Reside in Canada
• Not currently receiving treatment for a significant physical or mental health condition (e.g., ongoing psychotherapy or psychiatric care)
• Sufficient English proficiency to understand the intervention materials and complete all study assessments

Exclusion Criteria:

• Being under 19 years of age
• Being unemployed, retired, or a student who is not concurrently employed
• Residing outside Canada
• Currently engaging in significant mental health treatment

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Single-Session Burnout Intervention; A self-guided digital program that delivers evidence-based therapeutic content, including cognitive reframing, stress management, behavioural boundary-setting techniques, and self-care practices.	Behavioral: Single-Session Intervention to Prevent Burnout & Enhance Psychological Wellness; The intervention was developed based on a comprehensive systematic review (Phase 1 of the dissertation) that screened 2,349 records and included 27 final studies examining self-guided digital mental health interventions. The design and content of the current intervention are grounded in the best practices identified through that systematic review. Testimonials serve as the core delivery method for the intervention's "active ingredients." The systematic review showed that testimonials communicate information through narrative, enhance engagement and memory retention, leverage mechanisms such as mirror-neuron activation, reduce resistance, and promote behavioural activation. Each testimonial is purposefully designed to deliver specific therapeutic content, including cognitive reframing strategies to manage workplace stress, behavioural techniques for setting boundaries, and self-care practices for daily work routines.
Active Comparator: Creative Writing; A matched-length, structurally parallel module focused on creative writing. Matches the intervention in layout, pacing, and aesthetic style but intentionally omits therapeutic ingredients.	Behavioral: Creative Writing; A matched-length, structurally parallel module focused on creative writing. Matches the intervention in layout, pacing, and aesthetic style but intentionally omits therapeutic ingredients.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Burnout - Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-16)	The Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) is a 16-item self-report measure of occupational burnout, comprising three subscales: Exhaustion (5 items), Cynicism (5 items), and Professional Efficacy (6 items). Each item is rated on a 7-point frequency scale ranging from 1 ("never") to 7 ("every day"). Subscale scores are calculated as the sum of items within each subscale. Possible ranges are: Exhaustion 5-35, Cynicism 5-35, and Professional Efficacy 6-42. Higher scores on the Exhaustion and Cynicism subscales indicate greater burnout (worse outcome). Higher scores on the Professional Efficacy subscale indicate greater perceived effectiveness (better outcome).	T1 - Baseline Pre-Intervention (Day 1); T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2); T3 - Follow-up Assessment (Day 30)
Perceived Stress - Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10)	The Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10; Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983) is a 10-item self-report measure of the degree to which situations in one's life are appraised as unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale from 0 ("never") to 5 ("very often"). Four positively-worded items are reverse-scored prior to summation. Total scores range from 0 to 50. Higher scores indicate greater perceived stress (worse outcome).	T1 - Baseline Pre-Intervention (Day 1); T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2); T3 - Follow-up Assessment (Day 30)
Depressive Symptoms - Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8)	The Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8; Kroenke et al., 2009) is an 8-item self-report measure of depressive symptom severity over the past two weeks. Each item is rated on a 4-point scale from 0 ("not at all") to 3 ("nearly every day"). The total score is the sum of all items. Total scores range from 0 to 24. Higher scores indicate greater depressive symptom severity (worse outcome).	T1 - Baseline Pre-Intervention (Day 1); T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2); T3 - Follow-up Assessment (Day 30)
Anxiety - Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7)	The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 (GAD-7; Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams, & Löwe, 2006) is a 7-item self-report measure of anxiety symptom severity over the past two weeks. Each item is rated on a 4-point scale from 0 ("not at all") to 3 ("nearly every day"). The total score is the sum of all items. Total scores range from 0 to 21. Higher scores indicate greater anxiety symptom severity (worse outcome).	T1 - Baseline Pre-Intervention (Day 1); T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2); T3 - Follow-up Assessment (Day 30)
General Health - General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12)	The General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12; Goldberg et al., 1997) is a 12-item self-report screen for psychological distress and general mental health over the past few weeks. Each item is rated on a 4-point response scale (e.g., "more so than usual," "about the same as usual," "less so than usual," "much less than usual"). Items are scored using the Likert method (0-1-2-3 per item), with negatively-worded items reverse-coded so that higher item scores reflect worse health. Total scores range from 0 to 36. Higher scores indicate greater psychological distress and worse general mental health (worse outcome).	T1 - Baseline Pre-Intervention (Day 1); T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2); T3 - Follow-up Assessment (Day 30)
Well-Being - WHO Well-Being Index (WHO-5)	The World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5; WHO, 1998) is a 5-item self-report measure of subjective psychological well-being over the past two weeks. Each item is rated on a 6-point scale from 0 ("at no time") to 5 ("all of the time"). The raw total score (0-25) is multiplied by 4 to yield a percentage-based score. Final scores range from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate greater subjective well-being (better outcome). A score below 50 is conventionally considered to indicate reduced well-being.	T1 - Baseline Pre-Intervention (Day 1); T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2); T3 - Follow-up Assessment (Day 30)
Work Engagement - Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-3)	The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-3 (UWES-3; Schaufeli, Shimazu, Hakanen, Salanova, & De Witte, 2019) is a 3-item ultra-short self-report measure of work engagement, with one item each for vigor, dedication, and absorption. Each item is rated on a 7-point frequency scale from 0 ("never") to 6 ("always / every day"). The total score is computed as the mean of the three items. The total score ranges from 0 to 6. Higher scores indicate greater work engagement (better outcome).	T1 - Baseline Pre-Intervention (Day 1); T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2); T3 - Follow-up Assessment (Day 30)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Readiness to Change (3-item) Adapted from Motivational Interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 2013)	This measure consists of three single-item "readiness rulers" adapted from the Motivational Interviewing framework (Miller & Rollnick, 2013). Each ruler asks participants to rate, on a 10-point numeric rating scale from 1 to 10, one of the following dimensions of motivation to improve their well-being: Importance - "At this moment, how important is working towards improving your well-being?" anchored from 1 ("not important") to 10 ("very important").; Readiness - "How ready are you to work towards improving your well-being?" anchored from 1 ("not ready") to 10 ("completely ready").; Confidence - "How confident are you in your ability to work towards improving your well-being?" anchored from 1 ("not confident") to 10 ("completely confident"). A composite score is computed as the sum of the three items, ranging from 3 to 30. Higher scores indicate greater readiness to engage in well-being improvement efforts (better outcome).	T1 - Baseline Pre-Intervention (Day 1); T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2); T3 - Follow-up Assessment (Day 30)
Program Feedback/Acceptability (7-item) Measured by an Adapted Version of the Program Feedback Scale (PFS; Schleider, Dobias, Sung, & Mullarkey, 2020)	The Program Feedback Scale (PFS) is a brief self-report measure of program acceptability developed for use with single-session digital interventions. The version administered in this study contains seven agreement-format items rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 ("strongly disagree") to 5 ("strongly agree"). Items include, for example, "I enjoyed the program," "This program was easy to use," "I would recommend this program to a friend going through a hard time," and "I agree with the program's message."The primary acceptability score is the sum of the seven Likert items, ranging from 7 to 35. Higher scores indicate greater program acceptability (better outcome).	T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2)
Perceived Impact (3-item) Measured by Three Investigator-Developed Anchor-Based Items (Anvari & Lakens, 2021)	This measure consists of three investigator-developed items based on the anchor-based methodology described by Anvari and Lakens (2021), used to capture participants' subjective perception of immediate change following the intervention. Each item asks the participant to rate themselves "compared to before this activity" on a 7-point Likert scale anchored at 1 ("Much Less") and 7 ("Much More"), with the midpoint (4) representing "about the same." The three items assess perceived change in: (1) confidence in one's ability to manage one's well-being; (2) hopefulness; and (3) confidence in one's ability to solve the problems one is currently facing. A total score is computed as the sum of the three items, ranging from 3 to 21. Higher scores indicate a greater perceived positive impact of the intervention (better outcome).	T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Saint Mary's University (Canada)

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): April 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 27, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 7, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): May 13, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 13, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 7, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: psychological well-being; burnout prevention; occupational stress; single-session intervention; Workplace burnout; self-guided digital intervention; employee mental health
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Stress, Psychological; Occupational Diseases; Behavior; Personal Satisfaction; Burnout, Psychological; Occupational Stress; Psychological Well-Being
• Other Study ID Numbers: 26-088

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