First Responders, Musculoskeletal Discomfort, Resilience and Mental Health of First Responders, Stress, Work Engagement
Conditions
Keywords
first responders, mindfulness, resilience, occupational stress, mental health, physical health
Brief summary
High levels of chronic and recurrent workplace stress can profoundly impact the physical, mental, and emotional health of first responders. A multi-modal evidence-based mindfulness intervention was delivered to cohorts of first responders to evaluate effects on perceived stress, resilience, work engagement, and musculoskeletal pain.
Detailed description
The occupational stress experienced by first responders can result in decreased quality and safety of patient care, increased risk of first responder injury, and decreased organizational performance. Worksite mindfulness interventions have been shown to support decreases in occupational stress, as well as improved resilience and work engagement for other high stress professions. Mindfulness in Motion (MIM), an evidence-based mindfulness intervention, was adapted to target the specific occupational needs of first responders in a format that could be easily integrated into their workdays. Three cohorts of first responders received eight weekly synchronous mindfulness sessions with full access to the companion smartphone MIM app for six months after the core eight-week sessions were completed. Adaptations to the MIM content and experiential practices were informed by first responder feedback prior to the study. Self-report surveys to assess perceived stress, resilience, work engagement, and musculoskeletal pain were completed by first responder participants before participation in the intervention, at the end of the eight week intervention, and again six months after the intervention was completed.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALMindfulness in Motion for First Responders
Mindfulness in Motion (MIM) is an eight-week, evidence-based workplace intervention designed to provide participants with practical strategies to reduce stress and burnout, and improve resilience. Offered virtually, MIM was adapted to support first responders relative to their occupational stressors and unique work characteristics. A companion smartphone app supplemented the eight weekly synchronous sessions and offered content informed by first responders and experiential practices that were modeled by first responders.
Sponsors
Ohio State University
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Actively working as a community First Responder * 18 years or older * Ability to understand and read English * Commitment to participation in the eight weekly virtual sessions, download the MIM smartphone app * Adequate Wi-Fi to access the MIM app content
Exclusion criteria
* First responder working in a hospital or healthcare setting
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) | Baseline, immediately after the 8 week intervention, and 6 months after the completion of the 8-week intervention | The Perceived Stress Scale-10 is a self-report measure of perceived stress that measures the degree to which situations in one's life over the past month are appraised as stressful. The 4-point Likert scale responses are 0=Never, 1=Almost Never, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly Often, and 4=Very Often. Individual scores are summed and range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress. |
| Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10 (CD-RISC-10) | Baseline, immediately after the 8 week intervention, and 6 months after the completion of the 8-week intervention | The Connor Davidson-Resilience Scale-10 is a 10-item self-report assessment of a person's ability to bounce back after adversity. A 5-point Likert scale for each statement ranges from 0=Not true at all to 4=True nearly all of the time. A respondents's total sum score can range from 0-40 with higher scores indicating higher resilience. |
| Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-0 (UWES-9) | Baseline, immediately after the 8 week intervention, and 6 months after the completion of the 8-week intervention | A 9-item assessment of attitudes towards one's job. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-9 measures three dimensions: dedication, vigor, and absorption. All items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 0=Never, 1=Almost Never, 2=Rarely, 3=Sometimes, 4=Often, 5=Very Often, and 6=Always. Each sub scale time is summed and ranges from 0-18. Higher scores for each sub scale indicate higher dedication, vigor, and absorption with work. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (mNMQ) | Baseline, immediately after the 8 week intervention, and 6 months after the completion of the 8-week intervention | The Modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire is a standardized 14-item tool assessing musculoskeletal symptoms, over the past 12 months and past 7 days, across multiple body regions. Q. 1 asks about musculoskeletal pain in 9 anatomical areas include the neck, shoulders, upper back, elbows, lower back, wrists/hands, hips/thighs, knees, and ankles/feet--yes/no are responses. Q. 2 asks frequency of musculoskeletal issues in the 9 anatomical areas over the past 30 days with Q. 3 asking about length of time related to the musculoskeletal pain and Q. 4 about intensity of the pain that was indicated. With yes/no responses, Q. 5 \& 6 asks if pain has interfered with usual activities; question 7 asks if a healthcare provider was seen. Q. 9, 10, 11 asks if work activities have been disrupted and if a formal diagnosis was determined. Q. 12, 13, and 14 asks about related symptoms. The tool uses a structured, forced-choice format supported by a body map. There is no minimum or maximum score. |
| Mindfulness in Motion smartphone app usage | Immediately after completion of the 8-week intervention | App usage data in time per participant |
| Mindfulness in Motion videos watched | immediately after completion of the 8-week intervention | Frequency of videos watched by the overall participant sample on the smartphone app |
Countries
United States
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORMaryanna Klatt, PhD
Ohio State University
Outcome results
None listed