Symposia
Disaster Mental Health
Nicole R. DeTore, Ph.D.
Instructor
Massachusetts General Hospital
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Louisa G. Sylvia, Ph.D.
Psychologist
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts
Elyse Park, PhD, MPH
Professor
Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts
Anne S. Burke, Ph.D.
Staff Psychologist
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts
Felipe Jain, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry
Harvard Medical School / Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts
Julie Levison, MD, MPhil
Assistant Professor
Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts
Daphne Holt, MD, PhD
Associate Professor
Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Supporting the mental health of healthcare workers during and following the COVID-19 pandemic is a critical priority, with research showing that healthcare workers are experiencing high rates of depression, anxiety, and acute stress reactions. This study aimed to first measure the rates of emotional distress in healthcare workers, and to then examine the feasibility and acceptability of a brief online course called Resilience Training for Healthcare Workers (RT-HW), developed in March 2020, during the early stages of the pandemic in the United States. RT-HW was designed to introduce evidence-based skills such as mindfulness, self-compassion, and mentalization to healthcare workers, aiming to increase resilience and decrease emotional distress. RT-HW consists of three 12–19 min videos that include didactic information, experiential exercises, and testimonials of healthcare workers. Employees of a large healthcare system completed a mental health survey at baseline, and then again one month and two months later. A total of 554 participants completed the baseline survey, endorsing moderate to high levels of emotional distress. Exposure to patients with COVID-19 was not significantly correlated with emotional distress in this sample; however, greater exposure to COVID-19 patients was associated with a greater likelihood of having the subjective experience of positively impacting others. Of those who completed all three assessments and participated in the RT-HW course (n = 38), significant improvements in resilience and reductions in emotional distress were found one and two months later compared to those who did not participate in the course (n = 110) (repeated measures ANOVAs: all p < .05). These results suggest that being involved in the care of COVID-19 patients may have been psychologically protective to some extent, conferring a greater sense of purpose and meaning during the crisis. This study also provides preliminary evidence for the efficacy of RT-HW, a brief online video-based intervention for improving resilience and decreasing emotional distress in healthcare workers, which may be used to support healthcare workers throughout the course of the pandemic and during the aftermath.