Splatter Paint Room Event in the ICU - An Effort to Mitigate Burnout

Background - Among all the specialties, Critical Care Medicine physicians have reported the highest rate of burnout in the year 2021[Medscape National Physician Burnout & Suicide Report 2021]. Likewise, all Intensive Care Unit (ICU) staff such as nurses, respiratory therapists and patient care assistants as frontline workers have been experiencing stress during g the past 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we present an initiative of Center for Performing Arts (CPAM) department at a tertiary care academic medical center to help reduce fatigue and burnout among ICU staff through splatter painting. Methods - This study was conducted in a 36-bed Cardiovascular ICU at a tertiary care hospital. Permission was obtained from the relative departments for the use of data. CPAM planned a 3-day splatter tent event in the ICU. This event was mainly for the ICU staff but was open to all the hospital staff. The event was advertised using colorful flyers. Each participant was led to a quiet room where they would drape, pick their favorite music selection, and color prop. Participants were then left alone to unwind and release all the feels in the form of creating art and could stay as long as they wanted. Pre- and post-completion surveys were recorded and, data was analyzed. Results - A total of 49 staff participated. 32 out of 49 participants returned their surveys. Overwhelmingly majority of the comments were positive. The most popular music genre was rap/hip hop. Average stress levels 1(low) to 5(high) were 4.19 - before to 2.56 - after. The average score (1-least) to 5-most) for if the intervention helped with compassion fatigue (F) and mental exhaustion (ME) was 4.22 and 4.44 respectively. The average score for if the intervention helped them feel more engaged at work (EW) and instilled positive attitude (PA) towards organization was 4.34 and 4.77 respectively. We did Pearson's correlation for the four components of the activity i.e., F, ME, EW and PA. Our R was strongly positive with value of 0.9913, using formula r = Σ((X - My)(Y - Mx)) / √((SSx)(SSy)). We also cross checked meta-numerics. Our value of R2 (the coefficient of determination) was 0.9827. Our P-Value was .001199, with significance at p < .05. Conclusions - The level of burnout amongst healthcare workers is at a critical level globally. Healthcare administrations need to find ways to mitigate feelings of burnout and fatigue amongst staff. (Figure Presented).