Development and Implementation of a Brief Healthcare Professional Support Program Based in Gratitude, Mindfulness, Self-compassion, and Empathy

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To highlight the development, implementation, and initial findings of a brief healthcare professional support program called “GRACE.” BACKGROUND Healthcare professionals face significant work-related stressors that when left unmanaged can negatively affect their overall well-being and contribute to burnout. METHODS Over a 2-year period, the GRACE program was delivered to 8 clinical units at a midsized southwestern hospital. Questionnaires were administered at baseline and 1 month. RESULTS Program participants were 36 years old on average, female (81%), and White (68%) and mostly employed as nurses (66%). Attendees reported increased knowledge, understanding, and confidence and found the program to be acceptable. One month after training, participants demonstrated significant improvements in self-compassion. Medical units that received GRACE training saw significantly greater increases in patient satisfaction scores compared with units that did not receive training. CONCLUSIONS The GRACE program was feasible and acceptable to deliver, and initial proof-of-concept evidence was supported.

How Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Relate to the Inclination of Seeking Support and to Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Levels

“…Similarly, "self-compassionate" participants were more likely to seek out support from their parents, a family member, a religious figure, or a teacher. Consistent with the existing literature, perceived social support was positively related to mindfulness, self-compassion, and better psychological well-being (Wilson et al, 2020;Victorson et al, 2021). These results illustrate that these participants readily rely on close others when they are coping with difficulties in their lives, which may protect them from increasing negative symptoms such as stress or anxiety.…”

A scoping review of the impact of organisational factors on providers and related interventions in LMICs: Implications for respectful maternity care

“…This extends to intervention research with a focus on "caring for carers", on improving support for providers within and beyond healthcare [34]. Studies from HICs that aim to improve provider wellbeing and performance have been targeted at the organisational level through measures like reducing shift lengths and enabling rest, increasing professional support, and at the individual level through increasing coping mechanisms-such as mindfulness and meditation workshops and resiliency training [35][36][37]. Such intervention research is more elusive in LMICs where much of the focus has been on large-scale health systems strengthening programmes, and policy efforts to increase the human resource workforce and their retention, strengthen clinical training, upgrade infrastructure, bolster and streamline financing, and improve health system governance [38,39].…”

Gratitude journals can improve nurses' mental well-being

“…This study found that the participants who attended the training for over 2 years had significantly increased Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores compared with the units that did not receive the GRACE training 11. The study reported that higher levels of healthcare professional stress and burnout are associated with a decrease in effective patient-centered care and reduced effective communication with both other members of the healthcare team and patients 11. Another qualitative study that examined nursing students' experiences of journaling during the pandemic found gratitude to be a common theme of reflection.…”

“…A 2019 study investigated the GRACE training program (a healthcare professional support program), which included journaling and mindfulness components to improve healthcare workers' well-being and stress response 11. This study found that the participants who attended the training for over 2 years had significantly increased Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores compared with the units that did not receive the GRACE training 11. The study reported that higher levels of healthcare professional stress and burnout are associated with a decrease in effective patient-centered care and reduced effective communication with both other members of the healthcare team and patients 11.…”