Eastern Principles Acceptance and Commitment Therapy For Injury Prevention Among Nurses and Nursing Aides

Summary

This clinical trial will evaluate the effectivness of an Eastern Principles Acceptance and Commitment Therapy intervention (EPACT) relative to an estabished traditional Western-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy intervention (ACT) and a no treatment control group. The participants for the study will be nurses and nursing aides (NNAs) who work in long-term care settings in the USA and Thailand. The primary dependent variables are work-related injuries, work stress and burnout, wellbeing, musculoskeletal symptoms, time off from work due to injury. High frequency heart rate variability will also be investigated as a predictor of responsiveness to the interventions.

The study has three primary aims:

1. To compare the EPACT NNA intervention to an established traditional Western ACT NNA intervention and a no-treatment control group.
2. To identify predictors of ACT NNA and EPACT NNA responsiveness to the interventions and injury likelihood across time.
3. To assess EPACT NNA's feasibility and effectiveness across cultures.

USA participants working in Ohio will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: EPACT NNA (n = 80), ACT NNA (n = 80), or a no treatment control group (n = 80). All participants will participate in an assessment session where study questnnaires are completed and a baseline high frequency HRV measurement is collected. Subsequent to the assessment, the EPACT NNA and ACT NNA participants will attend two 2.5 hour sessions spaced one week apart. The control group will have no further in-person meetings with the researchers. One-month after completing the intervention (4 weeks after the baseline assessment) a follow-up survey will be sent to participants for the first follow-up. Three months after baseline, the second follow-up survey will be sent to participants.

The surveys assess demographic characteristics, organizational variables, work-related injuries, work stress, and well-being.

A second RCT study will be conducted in Thailand comparing EPACT NNA (n = 40) to a no-treatment control group (n = 40) among nurses and nursing aides working in healthcare settings. The same outcome measures and procedures will be used.

This research aims to develop a culturally-informed, evidence-based intervention that integrates both Western and Eastern mindfulness principles to address the high rates of work-related injuries among NNAs.

Conditions

• Well-Being, Psychological
• Work Injury
• Musculoskeletal Pain
• High Frequency Heart Rate Variability
• Burnout
• Mindfulness
• Self-Compassion
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
• Heart Rate Variability

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Eastern Principles Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Nurses and Nursing Aids (EPACT NNA)

The EPACT intervention will be group-based with 5-10 participants per group. The group-based format has been shown to be an effective delivery method for NNAs (O'Brien, et al., 2019b). The EPACT protocol is comprised of two 2.5-hour sessions spaced one week apart.

BEHAVIORAL

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Nurses and Nursing Aids (ACT NNA)

The ACT for NNA intervention has been previously tested for NNAs. It contains only the six core processes identified above and omits the added EPACT components of acceptance of suffering, common humanity, impermanence, self- and other-compassion, and non-self-attachment. It will be delivered in a similar group-based format of 5-10 participants in two 2.5 -hour sessions.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Bowling Green State University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-05-01

Primary Completion

2026-05-01

Completion

2026-05-01

Countries

• United States

Study Locations