Study to support the mental and physical well-being of US health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure high-quality care for patients through Stress First Aid.
The goal of the project is to support the mental and physical well-being of U.S. health care
workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure high-quality care for patients, by
establishing the effectiveness of a tailored Stress First Aid (SFA) intervention, compared to
usual care (UC). The RAND Corporation will conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial
(cRCT) with three cohorts containing matched pairs in approximately 40 diverse sites
(hospitals and clinics) to evaluate whether SFA for HCWs improves mental and physical
well-being compared to UC. Sequential roll-out of the intervention to three cohorts will
allow investigators to quickly incorporate lessons learned and stakeholder feedback from each
iteration into subsequent trainings, and share actionable findings given the urgency due to
the pandemic. The end result will be an SFA toolkit tailored for HCWs that can be implemented
and scaleable across multiple settings. The proposed SFA intervention addresses an important
and compelling clinical care delivery challenge during COVID-19 by improving the mental
well-being of HCWs, who will benefit directly and be better equipped to provide higher
quality, more sustained, and more patient-centered care to patients. The specific aims of the
project are to: (1) test the comparative effectiveness of SFA versus UC on mental and
physical well-being (quantitative); (2) understand and document any UC activities to support
HCW well-being prior to implementing SFA across sites; and (3) assess the experiences of HCWs
and sites with SFA (acceptability, likelihood of uptake, lessons learned) and impact on HCW
well-being (qualitative).
Behavioral: Stress First Aid
Stress First Aid (SFA) is an evidence-based intervention to mitigate the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on Health Care Workers (HCWs). SFA was initially developed for the United States Navy and Marine Corps as a framework of actions for peer support delivered by individuals without mental health training. SFA is designed to teach simple, supportive actions that can be seamlessly integrated into work environments. SFA training focuses on five essential principles: cover (restore and support a sense of safety), calm (encourage simple strategies such as breathing), connect (engage in and promote social support), competence (improve ability to address crucial needs and concerns), and confidence (increase hope and limit self-doubt and guilt). In this study, we are adapting the SFA model to include HCW-specific examples of SFA actions and case scenarios specific to the COVID-19 pandemic and will implement SFA using a "train-the trainer" model.
Inclusion Criteria:
- Health care workers and patient-facing support staff (e.g., front desk staff)
Exclusion Criteria:
- Non-English speaking
Clinical Directors Network, Inc
New York, New York, United States
Vizient Inc.
Irving, Texas, United States
Sarah E Dalton, MA
310-393-0411 - 7301
sdalton@rand.org
Lisa Meredith, PhD
310-393-0411 - 7365
seidel@rand.org
Melanie Renzi, Study Director
RAND