None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Junior Doctors have significantly higher levels of psychological distress compared to other doctors further along in their career (BeyondBlue, 2013). To date, interventions for doctors have focused on individual factors (West et al, 2016), however, there is recognition that interventions positioned at the structural and organisational level also need to be implemented (Shanafelt and Noseworthy, 2017). The aim is to develop an online, mobile responsive, education program for physician supervisors that enhances their confidence in supporting the mental health needs of their trainees and promote managerial behaviour most likely to result in a more mentally healthy workplace. We hypothesise that supervisors’ confidence and behaviours in discussing mental health matters with their trainees will be enhanced.
Interventions
The intervention, HeadCoach for Physicians, has been adapted from a previously evaluated comprehensive online training program for managers called HeadCoach in collaboration with psychiatrists with expertise in workplace mental health, mental health online training experts and senior physicians supervising doctors-in-training. The adaptation of the program for physician supervisors is informed by information provided by physician supervisors and organisations involved in medical education, as w
The intervention, HeadCoach for Physicians, has been adapted from a previously evaluated comprehensive online training program for managers called HeadCoach in collaboration with psychiatrists with expertise in workplace mental health, mental health online training experts and senior physicians supervising doctors-in-training. The adaptation of the program for physician supervisors is informed by information provided by physician supervisors and organisations involved in medical education, as well as research literature on mental health issues among doctors. Further amendments to the program have been made following the feedback received at the completion of the program pilot study. This version of the program aims to help supervisor physicians better recognise and understand mental health needs among trainee doctors and highlight what supervisors can do to help keep trainees as mentally healthy as possible. The online program is divided into 3 broad topics and each topic is divided into a set of 10-minute modules. Topic 1. Common Mental Illnesses - Recognising Mental Health Issues - The Workplace and its People - Providing Support Topic 2. Helping Trainees you are Concerned About (Responsive Strategies) - Identifying Trainees at Risk - Having the Talk - Facilitating Help Seeking - Returning to Work Topic 3. Minimising Mental Health Risks at Work (Preventive Strategies) - Developing Work to Minimise Harm - Building Organisational Resilience Through Good Supervision Each module comprises of text material, activities, short videos and practice exercises to complete as part of the training. It is expected the entire program will take approximately 2 hours. The program has been designed so users in the intervention group can complete it at their own pace and preferred times across a 3-week period. The intervention will be delivered through a mobile responsive website and individuals can complete the intervention on a desktop, laptop, tablet or smart phone. Participants will receive an email or text message reminder to complete the program every week. An additional email or text message will be sent during the third week (day 20) to notify participants of the end of the 3-week period. Website analytics will also be used to monitor adherence of participants.
Sponsors
Univeristy of New South Wales
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Supervisor Physician Level: 18 years or older Good English comprehension Supervising a team of physician trainees Currently residing in Australia or New Zealand
Exclusion criteria
None
Outcome results
None listed