Wounds and Injuries

All Conditions

Neoplasms

Symptoms and General Pathology

Behaviors and Mental Disorders

Neoplasm Metastasis

Compassion Fatigue

Neoplastic Processes

The debrief group participated in 3 consecutive face-to-face group debriefing sessions lasting 1.5-2 hrs each. Each session started with a fun ice-breaker to create a relaxed atmosphere and group cohesion. Session 1 focused on encouraging group participation, discussing primary trauma encountered and emotional reactions to these stories. Session 2 connected current experiences with the group members' own trauma histories and life experiences. The last session focussed on societal and community responses to violence, and employing personal agency to find constructive ways to address violence in communities.

The control group was assigned to a leisure activity (film showing), for every session of debriefing undergone by the intervention group. The films were chosen for their light-hearted uplifting content and presented as a fun and relaxing activity.

Group Debriefing involves story-telling, identifying emotional responses to these stories, psycho-education and practical information to normalize group member reactions to a distressing event.

Group Debriefing

leisure activity (film showing)

Heidi Grundlingh, MPH

The objectives of the study were: To (1) describe the epidemiology of emotional distress experienced by Ugandan violence researchers; to (2) assess the effectiveness of group debriefings in mitigating secondary distress; to (3) assess risk and protective factors. Eligible participants were 59 Ugandan researchers employed by the Good Schools Study (GSS, NCT01678846) to interview children and adults who experienced violence. Recruited participants were randomly assigned to group debriefings (intervention) or film viewing (control). The primary outcome was change in levels of emotional distress.

Background: Secondary distress including emotional distress, vicarious trauma (VT) and secondary traumatic stress (STS) due to exposure to primary trauma victims have been described in helping professionals and in violence researchers. To our knowledge, there are few prevalence studies, and no tailored interventions have been tested to reduce secondary distress in violence researchers.

Objective: To (1) describe the epidemiology of emotional distress experienced by Ugandan violence researchers; to (2) assess the effectiveness of group debriefings in mitigating secondary distress; to (3) assess risk and protective factors.

Methods: An unblinded, individually randomised trial with parallel assignment was conducted. Eligible participants were 59 Ugandan researchers employed by the Good Schools Study (GSS, NCT01678846) to interview children and adults who experienced violence in the district of Luwero, Uganda. 53 researchers agreed to participate and were randomly allocated. The intervention group (n=26) participated in three group debriefings and the control group (n=27) participated in three leisure sessions (film viewing).The primary outcome was change in levels of emotional distress (SRQ-20); secondary outcomes were levels of VT and STS at end-line.

Reducing Secondary Distress in Violence Researchers: a Randomised Trial of the Effectiveness of Group Debriefings.

The SRQ-20 is a 20 item measure which require simple 'yes' or 'no' responses and was designed as a screening tool for psychological symptoms/emotional distress. It has been widely used and validated in low and middle-income countries as a measure of mental health and wellbeing. The SRQ-20 was modelled as a continuous variable but also a binary variable were the top 33% of the overall distribution was deemed as having a 'high' score indicative of probable emotional distress, consistent with previous research.

The Vicarious Trauma Scale (VTS), an 8 item measure with a 7 point Likert-type scale, has recently been developed and shown to have good psychometric properties for use as a screening tool for vicarious trauma in low resource settings. It is the only publically available screening measure of VT.

The Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R)consists of 22 items with a 4 point Likert-type scale widely validated and used to screen for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It has been used by several studies to measure STS as the theoretical symptomology is similar.

The Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) was developed to screen mental health and other professionals who may experience positive or negative impacts as they help others. Versions of the screening tool have good construct validity with over 200 published papers and it is widely used in research as a measure for STS and related constructs.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Research Fellow

Occupational Diseases

Fatigue

Burnout, Psychological

Burnout, Professional

Stress, Psychological

Behavioral Symptoms

Occupational Stress

Mental Fatigue

Participants in the intervention will participate in the 6-week mindfulness self-compassion course delivered online.

This course is designed to reduce burnout and compassion fatigue among specialist rehabilitation providers. Course materials are adapted from the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion (CMSC).

Mindfulness Self-Compassion Course

Robert Simpson, Md, PhD

The goal of this clinical trial is to explore the impact of an online compassion-based intervention on burnout among specialist rehabilitation providers. Post-intervention interviews aim to gather information on: burnout and compassion, experiences with the intervention, barriers and facilitators to taking part, and suggestions for improving online course delivery.

Burnout threatens the sustainability of compassionate care in rehabilitation. This project explores the impact of an online compassion-based intervention on burnout among specialist inpatient rehabilitation healthcare providers. Thirty specialist rehabilitation healthcare providers will be recruited to take part. The online intervention will include six weekly live one-hour sessions. Healthcare provider socio-demographic, practice, and wellness measures will be collected at baseline, post-course, and three months later. Qualitative interviews will be used to explore participant views on burnout and compassion, experiences with the intervention, barriers and facilitators to taking part, and suggestions for improving online course delivery. Up to two instructors and support persons will be invited to participate in qualitative interviews to explore their views for improving online course delivery.

A Mindful Self-compassion Based Intervention for Specialist Rehabilitation Providers

Mindful Self-compassion, Compassion Fatigue, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Burnout Among Specialist Rehabilitation Providers - a Mixed Methods Study Protocol

Measures the positive and negative effects of one's compassion for those that they help rehabilitate.

Measure's ones tendencies for receiving and providing relational compassion.

Measures how one typically acts towards themselves in difficult times.

Measures the different ways that people may think about their lives.

Measures one's tendencies to engage in mindfulness practices.

Measures one's thoughts and feelings pertaining to stress.

Study title	NCT ID	Conditions	Interventions	Eligibility	Organization	Link
Reducing Secondary Distress in Violence Researchers: a Randomised Trial of the Effectiveness of Group Debriefings.	NCT02390778	Emotional Distr...	Group Debriefin... leisure activit...	-	London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
A Mindful Self-compassion Based Intervention for Specialist Rehabilitation Providers	NCT05997082	Burnout, Profes... Compassion Fati... Secondary Traum...	Mindfulness Sel...	18 Years -	Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

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