Organizational and Individual Interventions for Managing Work-Related Stress in Healthcare Professionals: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The workplace represents a relevant source of stress for workers, being a risk factor for many mental disorders and psychological difficulties, including burn-out syndrome. Healthcare workers and other help-professions are particularly susceptible to work-related stress. The present systematic review aims to (1) identify available interventions for managing workplace-related stress symptoms; (2) assess their efficacy; and (3) discuss the current limitations of available interventions. A systematic review has been conducted, searching on PubMed, APA PsycInfo, and Scopus databases. Eighteen papers have been identified, which included different interventions for the management of work-related stress in healthcare professionals. These approaches can be grouped as follows: (1) interventions focusing on the individual level using cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) approaches; (2) interventions focusing on the individual level using relaxation techniques; and (3) interventions focusing on the organizational level. As regards interventions targeting the individual level using CBT approaches, mindfulness-based interventions were effective in reducing levels of burn-out, stress, and anxiety and in improving quality of life. As regards intervention using relaxation techniques, including art therapy, Emotional Freedom Techniques (ECT) and brief resilience retreats had a positive effect on the levels of anxiety, stress, and burnout. As regards interventions at the organizational level, we found no evidence for supporting its effectiveness in reducing the levels of burnout. Furthermore, available studies are heterogeneous in terms of assessment tools, target populations, and type of interventions, which limits the generalizability of findings.

Prevalence and factors associated with burnout among health professionals of a public hospital network during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Individual interventions can help workers to deal with stress and reduce burnout. Most use one or a combination of relaxation, cognitive behavioral or mindfulness-based approaches, and education on burnout and stress management [ 37 , 40 ]. In Brazil, the integrative and complementary practices constituting the National Policy on Integrative and Complementary Practices within the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) scope have been the most studied [ 41 , 42 ].…”

Evaluation and Comparison of Relaxation-Related Workplace Interventions Among Office Workers at an Insurance Institution: An Intervention Study

“…Since previous studies have mostly investigated and compared relaxation-related interventions with controls or other types of interventions 16 , 21 , 22 or only groups treated with multiple techniques, 21 - 23 this study aimed to specifically investigate the effects and differences between 3 of the most commonly used relaxation techniques. In particular, stress and stress reduction are often studied in health care workers 2 , 6 , 15 , 16 , 20 with unique workplace demands.…”

Is There a Burnout Epidemic among Medical Students? Results from a Systematic Review

“…Medical students might be very competitive, especially when specific personality traits, mental rigidity, the fear of failure, and the desire for perfectionism are present [8]. Furthermore, the high levels of cynicism and emotional exhaustion among medical students also contribute to the occurrence of psychiatric symptoms and of burnout syndrome [9][10][11][12][13][14]. Medical students tend to, consequently, hold themselves to a high standard to succeed academically.…”