The impact of positive reinforcement on teamwork climate, resiliency, and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic: The TEAM-ICU (Transforming Employee Attitudes via Messaging strengthens Interconnection, Communication, and Unity) pilot study

Abstract

Burnout is an internationally recognized occupational phenomenon that negatively impacts the healthcare workforce and its recipients. The aim of this pilot study was to test whether positive reinforcement and integrating a language of support among co-workers can enhance resiliency, facilitate psychological wellness, and encourage hope. This embedded mixed methods prospective, behavioral, interventional study evaluated the effects of positive feedback on wellness among intensive care unit clinicians during the COVID-19 pandemic in a single center, quaternary care medical center. The deliberate positive feedback paradigm has the potential to augment resiliency and improve attitudes toward a teamwork climate. The routine use of deliberate positivity may represent a scalable, low-cost initiative to enhance wellness in a healthcare organization.

Promoting Well-being: A Scoping Review of Strategies Implemented During the COVID-19 Pandemic to Enhance the Well-being of the Nursing Workforce

“…A resilience framework can form the basis of well-being programs. Green et al., ( Green et al., 2022 )USA To assess whether positive reinforcement and integrating a language of support among co-workers, sent via a messaging tool, could enhance resiliency, and decrease burnout. Convenience sample of 24 frontline healthcare providers (physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists) working in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU).…”

“…Included studies were from USA (n=9), Italy (n=2), UK (n=2), Australia (n=2), Taiwan (n=2), Jordan (n=1), Spain (n=1), Iran (n=1), and China (n=1). 17 of the included studies were conducted in acute hospital settings or services: with 6 focusing on broad health districts ( Blake et al., 2020 , 2021 ; Holton et al., 2022 ; Olcoń et al., 2022 ; Sawyer et al., 2022 ; Sawyer et al., 2022 ), 5 focusing on single or multiple hospital sites ( Castillo-Sánchez et al., 2022 , Carter and Turner, 2021 , Hsieh et al., 2022 , Muir et al., 2022 , Zaghini et al., 2021 )) and 6 focusing on individual units or wards, including a range of specialty areas such as Intensive Care Units ( Drexler et al., 2023 , Green et al., 2022 ), Emergency ( Haugland et al., 2023 , Yang et al., 2022 ), Surgical ( King et al., 2022 ), and COVID-19 care wards ( Nourian et al., 2021 ). One study conducted by Chen et al.…”

“…There were examples of spontaneous and collective expressions of gratitude by the community, for example #Clappingforthecarers in the UK and Europe, which helped to lift spirits ( Maben and Bridges, 2020 ). Well-being strategies in five of the studies focused on providing nursing staff with positive affirmations or messages of support as a way of boosting mental health and well-being ( Chen et al., 2021 , Green et al., 2022 , King et al., 2022 , Unger, 2022 ).…”

The Influence of Bilingualism and Language Attitudes on Language Choice in Multilingual Communities in a West Javan University

“…Positive attitudes toward a language may lead to its increased use and prestige, while negative attitudes might result in language avoidance or marginalization. Understanding the nuances of language attitudes is imperative for comprehending the socio-linguistic landscape within a university [23], [24].…”