Digital Interventions to Understand and Mitigate Stress Response

Summary

Stress, anxiety, distress, and burnout are exceptionally high among healthcare workers at the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic. The understanding of factors underlying distress and resilience in complex workplace contexts is limited, and there are limited evidence-based interventions for stress and moral distress among frontline healthcare workers. The purpose of this study is to use a Digital Intervention Suite (a combination of Virtual Reality \[VR\], a web-based platform, and a wearable \[Oura Ring\]) to understand and reduce the experience of stress/distress faced by nursing professionals.

Conditions

• Distress, Emotional
• Stress Response Among Nursing Professionals During the COVID-19
• Stress Reaction; Acute

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Digital Intervention Group

Participants will use a Digital Intervention Suite composed of a virtual reality (VR) scenario, a web-based platform, and a wearable device to assess their stress response in near-real time and in a hypothetical stressful scenario. During the VR scenario, physiological signals such as Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), Electrocardiogram (ECG), Respiratory Independence (RI), and Photoplethysmography will be measured. Additionally, an educational intervention video on how to deal with stress and distress will be shown to participants. We will then request participants to practice the skills taught during the intervention video in the VR scenario. The wearable device (Oura Ring) will measure sleep, activity, readiness information, heart rate, heart rate variability, body temperature (delta), and respiratory rate. Additionally, the web-based platform will, through questionnaires, assess stress-related symptoms such as loneliness, anxiety, depression, and moral injury.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Toronto Metropolitan University

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Toronto

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Ontario Institute of Technology

  collaborator OTHER

• Boston University

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Ottawa

  collaborator OTHER

• Western University, Canada

  collaborator OTHER

• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

  collaborator OTHER

• Unity Health Toronto

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Venkat Bhat, MD MSc · Unity Health Toronto

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-05-01

Primary Completion

2023-12-08

Completion

2023-12-08

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations