RECHARGE: A Brief Psychological Intervention to Build Resilience in Healthcare Workers During COVID-19

Summary

The healthcare industry is inherently demanding, stressful, and, at times, emotionally draining. On a typical day, many workers must make rapid and critical decisions, manage numerous demands, team conflicts, and challenging situations with patients and their families. For some health care workers (HCW), the current pandemic - COVID-19 - has also exacerbated these challenges. Providing psychological support is key in alleviating stress among HCWs, yet the situation does not require therapy because HCWs do not principally suffer from a mental disorder. RECHARGE was specifically developed for HCWs and is an abbreviated online version of Problem Management Plus, an evidence-based intervention that helps to cope with stress in times of crisis. As a brief psychological intervention for adults affected by adversity emerging from stress exposure, RECHARGE teaches people three well-documented strategies to manage acute stress (a: managing stress, b: managing worry, c: meaningful activity). It includes psychoeducation, arousal reduction techniques, managing worries and problem-solving skills, behavioral activation, and enhancement of meaningful activities, which are all based on the principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of RECHARGE to reduce stress in HCWs and enhance their work performance. Participants in this randomized controlled trial (RCT) study are randomly assigned to either RECHARGE or the active control group. To this end, stress including symptoms of burnout, worries, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and work performance will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and at a 2 and 6 month follow up.

Conditions

• Stress
• Burnout
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Covid19

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

RECHARGE

RECHARGE is an abbreviated and adapted version of Problem Management Plus (PM+), an evidence-based intervention that helps to cope with stress in times of crisis. Recharge is specifically developed for HCWs as a brief psychological intervention for adults affected by adversity emerging from stress exposure and teaches people three well-documented strategies to manage acute stress. The strategies are: a) managing stress, b) managing worry, c) meaningful activity. It includes psychoeducation, arousal reduction techniques, managing worries and problem-solving skills, behavioural activation, enhancement of meaningful activities, and relapse prevention, which are all based on the principles of cognitive-behavioural therapy. RECHARGE is delivered online in a 1 to 1 setting between coach and participant. Trained peers (medical doctors, nurses, psychologists) act as coaches.

BEHAVIORAL

Self Study

HCWs are referred to a few recommended webpages that outline well-validated, adaptive coping strategies for managing stress.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of New South Wales

  collaborator OTHER

• Naser Morina

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Naser Morina, PhD · University of Zurich

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2020-08-28

Primary Completion

2021-06-01

Completion

2021-06-01

Countries

• Switzerland

Study Locations