STOPTHEBURN: Use of Death Cafes to Prevent Burnout in ICU Healthcare Employees

Sponsor

Tulane University School of Medicine (Other)

Overall Status

Active, not recruiting

CT.gov ID

NCT04347811

Collaborator

Spirit of Charity Foundation - University Medical Center (Other)

340

Enrollment

Locations

Arms

29.1

Anticipated Duration (Months)

Patients Per Site

2.9

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

Burnout affects a significant number of healthcare employees and leads to worsened mental health, increased job turnover, and patient safety events. Those caring for critically ill patients may be especially susceptible due to high patient mortality, long hours, and regular encounters with traumatic and ethical issues. Preliminary studies suggest that debriefing opportunities may reduce burnout through reflection on distressing patient events, enhancement of social support, and interprofessional collaboration. Death Cafés are a specific form of debriefing that focus on discussing death, dying, loss, and illness.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether biweekly Death Cafe group debriefing sessions can prevent burnout in ICU physicians and staff.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Burnout Burnout, Professional Burnout, Psychological Anxiety Depression	Behavioral: Death Cafe	N/A

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Actual Enrollment :

340 participants

Allocation:

Randomized

Intervention Model:

Parallel Assignment

Masking:

None (Open Label)

Primary Purpose:

Prevention

Official Title:

Systematic Trial Of PrevenTing Healthcare Employee Burnout: Using Reflection & Nourishment

Actual Study Start Date :

Jul 20, 2020

Actual Primary Completion Date :

Jun 30, 2022

Anticipated Study Completion Date :

Dec 23, 2022

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: Death Cafe Arm Participants undergo biweekly Death Café sessions hosted by a trained psychotherapist for 3 months.	Behavioral: Death Cafe Death Cafés are a specific form of debriefing that focuses on discussing death, dying, loss, and illness. Nourishment in the form of cake is provided. These sessions may allow for reflection on distressing patient events while developing a sense of community and collaboration among hospital employees.
No Intervention: Control Arm Participants do not undergo biweekly Death Café sessions hosted by a trained psychotherapist for 3 months.

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

Experimental: Death Cafe Arm

Participants undergo biweekly Death Café sessions hosted by a trained psychotherapist for 3 months.

Behavioral: Death Cafe

Death Cafés are a specific form of debriefing that focuses on discussing death, dying, loss, and illness. Nourishment in the form of cake is provided. These sessions may allow for reflection on distressing patient events while developing a sense of community and collaboration among hospital employees.

No Intervention: Control Arm

Participants do not undergo biweekly Death Café sessions hosted by a trained psychotherapist for 3 months.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Differences in Burnout as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory Score (MBI). [At the time of enrollment and at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months after enrollment]
This is a validated 22-item, self-reported questionnaire that asks respondents to indicate on a 7 point Likert scale the frequency of certain feelings related to their job. Presence of burnout is defined by high values of depersonalization and emotional exhaustion with low values for personal accomplishment. Changes in mean scores between groups and within groups over time will be assessed.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Differences in Depression as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire 8 (PHQ-8) [At the time of enrollment and at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months after enrollment]
This is an 8 question validated questionnaire that asks respondents to indicate the frequency with which they have experienced certain symptoms consistent with depression. Higher scores mean higher frequency of depression symptoms, and a score of 10 or higher will be considered to indicate clinically significant depression. Changes in mean scores between groups and within groups over time will be assessed.
Differences in Anxiety as measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 Scale (GAD-7) [At the time of enrollment and at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months after enrollment]
This is a 7 question validated questionnaire that asks respondents to indicate the frequency with which they have experienced certain symptoms consistent with anxiety. Higher scores mean higher frequency of anxiety symptoms, and a score of 10 or higher will be considered to indicate clinically significant anxiety. Changes in mean scores between groups and within groups over time will be assessed.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

N/A and Older

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, or therapists working in the Intensive Care Unit and have worked for the full-time equivalent of at least 1 week in the preceding 4 weeks

Exclusion Criteria:

Not physicians, nurses, pharmacists, or therapists
Have worked less than the full-time equivalent of at least 1 week in the preceding 4 weeks

Contacts and Locations

Locations

	Site	City	State	Country	Postal Code
1	Tulane Medical Center	New Orleans	Louisiana	United States	70112
2	University Medical Center	New Orleans	Louisiana	United States	70112
3	Children's Hospital New Orleans	New Orleans	Louisiana	United States	70118
4	Ochsner Medical Center	New Orleans	Louisiana	United States	70121

Sponsors and Collaborators

Tulane University School of Medicine
Spirit of Charity Foundation - University Medical Center

Investigators

Principal Investigator: Marjorie E Bateman, MD, Tulane University School of Medicine
Principal Investigator: Joshua Denson, MD, Tulane University School of Medicine