Practical resiliency training for healthcare workers during COVID-19: results from a randomised controlled trial testing the Community Resiliency Model for well-being support

OBJECTIVE: To introduce the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) as mental well-being support for healthcare workers working through the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial with a no treatment control group. SETTING: Two large urban health systems in the Southern United States between October 2020 and June 2021. PARTICIPANTS: Eligible participants were currently employed as healthcare workers within the participating healthcare systems. 275 employees registered and consented electronically in response to email invitations. 253 participants completed the baseline survey necessary to be randomised and included in analyses. INTERVENTION: Participants were assigned 1:1 to the control or intervention group at the time of registration. Intervention participants were then invited to 1-hour virtual CRM class teaching skills to increase somatic awareness in the context of self and other care. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported data were collected rating somatic awareness, well-being, symptoms of stress, work engagement and interprofessional teamwork. RESULTS: Baseline data on the total sample of 275 (53% nurses) revealed higher symptoms of stress and lower well-being than the general population. The intervention participants who attended a CRM class (56) provided follow-up survey data at 1 week (44) and 3 months (36). Significant improvement for the intervention group at 3 months was reported for the well-being measures (WHO-5, p<0.0087, d=0.66; Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, p<0.0004, d=0.66), teamwork measure (p≤0.0002, d=0.41) and stress (Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale, p=0.0058, d=46). CONCLUSION: Baseline results indicate mental health is a concern for healthcare workers. Post intervention findings suggest that CRM is a practical approach to support well-being for healthcare workers during a crisis such as this pandemic. The simple tools that comprise the model can serve as a starting point for or complement self-care strategies to enhance individual resilience and buffer the effects of working in an increasingly stressful work environment.