| Description |
Background: Burnout among mental health professionals (MHPs) in pediatric inpatient psychiatric units is a significant concern, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. This project aimed to address burnout and enhance well-being among staff using the Social Accountability Wellness Program (SAWP) grounded in Components for Enhancing Clinician Experience and Reducing Trauma (CE-CERT) principles. Local Problem: This quality improvement project occurred on a pediatric inpatient psychiatric unit in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The unit, a 12-bed facility, serves patients aged 17 and younger who are at risk of harming themselves or others due to mental, cognitive, or behavioral health conditions. Staff in this high-stress and emotionally demanding environment frequently encounter challenges such as burnout and secondary trauma. Methods: The project lead implemented a wellness toolkit grounded in the CE-CERT framework and incorporated educational resources, stress management techniques, and a social accountability challenge. The Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) Questionnaire and free-response questions were administered before and after the intervention to evaluate changes in burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction. Weekly engagement surveys monitored participation levels, while qualitative feedback from interviews and focus groups offered additional insights into the outcomes. Interventions: Key stakeholders, including unit leaders, nurses, and behavioral health technicians, collaboratively developed a wellness toolkit based on the findings from the initial assessment. Grounded in the CE-CERT framework, a model recognized for promoting clinician well-being, the toolkit featured educational materials on wellness practices, stress management strategies, and engagement incentives to encourage participation. A central component of the intervention was a social accountability challenge designed to foster a supportive, peer-driven environment where staff could collectively engage in wellness activities and track their progress. Results: Twenty-seven caregivers participated in the initiative. Seventeen completed the preintervention survey, and eleven completed the post-intervention survey. Compassion Satisfaction scores increased slightly from 38 (SD = 0.96) to 39 (SD = 0.80). Burnout scores held steady at 25 (SD = 1.13 pre, 1.23 post). Secondary Traumatic Stress scores rose slightly from 25 (SD = 1.15) to 26 (SD = 1.09). Weekly engagement declined over the four-week period, peaking during the first week. Conclusions: The SAWP intervention slightly improved compassion satisfaction but did not significantly reduce burnout or secondary traumatic stress. These findings underscore the need for more robust, integrated strategies to mitigate workplace stress. Future efforts should embed wellness practices into daily routines and extend intervention timelines to boost engagement and impact. |
