Stakeholder perspectives of adaptations of a burnout intervention for special education teachers

Abstract

The high attrition and turnover rates of qualified special education teachers (SETs) is a significant concern exacerbated by COVID‐19. Unfortunately, there are limited studies available on research‐based interventions to decrease burnout. The purpose of this study was to describe our processes and results for adaptations and modifications of BREATHE, a burnout intervention originally developed for community mental health workers, into Burnout Reduction: Enhanced Awareness, Tools, Handouts, and Education: Evidence‐based Activities for Stress for Educators (BREATHE‐EASE) for special educators with guidance from the Framework for Reporting Adaptation and Modifications to Evidence‐Based Interventions (FRAME). We applied the FRAME within a hybrid Type 1 trial for characterizing our approach. Four focus groups (N = 30; 83% female) were conducted separately according to job title (SETs; school administrators), with semi‐structured questions tailored to each group. Emergent thematic analysis was used to identify core themes related to adaptations, and results were presented to a subset of focus group members. Modifications involved content, context, and implementation changes for the adapted intervention, with most changes identified for content. FRAME was helpful for providing a systematic approach to integrate stakeholder‐informed adaptations of a burnout intervention, addressing significant concerns of SET stress, burnout, and attrition.