Tackling burnout in Australian doctors by blending a web-based cognitive-behavioural therapy program with telehealth psychological support – protocol for a three-arm randomised-controlled trial

IF 1.4 Q4 MEDICINE, RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTAL

Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications Pub Date : 2025-06-30 DOI:10.1016/j.conctc.2025.101514

M.J. Coleshill , M.J. Black , K. Luck , K. Willis , N. Smallwood , H. Stephens , T. Gillings , L. Fraser , M. Putland , L. Kampel , A.M. Martin , N.F. Praharso , A.D. Joffe , S. Harvey , P.A. Baldwin

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Abstract

Background

Burnout has received limited attention in treatment programs, despite high prevalence among health professionals and the threat burnout places upon the mental health and the long-term sustainability of the Australian healthcare system. As part of The Essential Network (TEN), a blended care mental health support service for Australian health professionals, we developed Navigating Burnout – a digital cognitive-behavioural therapy program for health professional burnout. This three-arm randomised-controlled trial (RCT) will examine the effectiveness, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness of Navigating Burnout in both blended care and digital formats in reducing burnout among doctors.

Methods

Doctors (n = 207) with burnout will be randomised to (1) a blended version of Navigating Burnout combining digital resources with five fortnightly telehealth sessions with a clinical psychologist, (2) a digital-only version of Navigating Burnout, or (3) self-care psychoeducation as an active attention control. Burnout, psychosocial wellbeing, workforce engagement and attrition, and service acceptability will be measured at baseline, post-treatment, and 3 months post-treatment.

Results

At 3 months post-treatment, we hypothesise reductions in burnout across both treatment arms, with the strongest effect in the blended care arm. Similar trends are expected for psychosocial and occupational outcomes. High service acceptability across both blended care and digital-only versions of Navigating Burnout is also anticipated.

Conclusions

With this evidence, Navigating Burnout may be incorporated into TEN's person-to-person components. Further, by demonstrating the effectiveness of blended care for burnout, Navigating Burnout may provide a crucially needed service for Australian doctors and replicable model of care for other organisations and support services.

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通过将基于网络的认知行为治疗项目与远程医疗心理支持相结合，解决澳大利亚医生的职业倦怠问题——一项三组随机对照试验的协议

尽管职业倦怠在卫生专业人员中非常普遍，并且职业倦怠对心理健康和澳大利亚卫生保健系统的长期可持续性构成威胁，但在治疗方案中，职业倦怠受到的关注有限。作为基本网络（TEN）的一部分，我们为澳大利亚卫生专业人员提供混合护理心理健康支持服务，我们开发了导航倦怠-一个针对卫生专业人员倦怠的数字认知行为治疗计划。这项三组随机对照试验（RCT）将检验在混合护理和数字格式中导航倦怠在减少医生倦怠方面的有效性、可接受性和成本效益。方法207名出现过劳的医生将被随机分配到(1)使用混合版本的《过劳指南》，该版本结合了数字资源和与临床心理学家进行的五次两周一次的远程医疗会议，(2)使用纯数字版本的《过劳指南》，或(3)使用自我保健心理教育作为主动注意控制。将在基线、治疗后和治疗后3个月测量倦怠、心理健康、劳动力参与和流失以及服务可接受性。结果治疗后3个月，我们假设两个治疗组的倦怠都有所减少，其中混合护理组的效果最强。预计社会心理和职业结果也会出现类似趋势。预计混合护理和数字版本的导航倦怠的高服务可接受性。有了这一证据，导航倦怠可以被纳入TEN的个人对个人组件。此外，通过展示倦怠混合护理的有效性，导航倦怠可能为澳大利亚医生提供至关重要的服务，并为其他组织和支持服务提供可复制的护理模式。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics-Pharmacology

CiteScore

2.70

自引率

6.70%

发文量

146

审稿时长

20 weeks

期刊介绍： Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications is an international peer reviewed open access journal that publishes articles pertaining to all aspects of clinical trials, including, but not limited to, design, conduct, analysis, regulation and ethics. Manuscripts submitted should appeal to a readership drawn from a wide range of disciplines including medicine, life science, pharmaceutical science, biostatistics, epidemiology, computer science, management science, behavioral science, and bioethics. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications is unique in that it is outside the confines of disease specifications, and it strives to increase the transparency of medical research and reduce publication bias by publishing scientifically valid original research findings irrespective of their perceived importance, significance or impact. Both randomized and non-randomized trials are within the scope of the Journal. Some common topics include trial design rationale and methods, operational methodologies and challenges, and positive and negative trial results. In addition to original research, the Journal also welcomes other types of communications including, but are not limited to, methodology reviews, perspectives and discussions. Through timely dissemination of advances in clinical trials, the goal of Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications is to serve as a platform to enhance the communication and collaboration within the global clinical trials community that ultimately advances this field of research for the benefit of patients.