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Stress-management interventions may help individual healthcare workers for at least a year
Interventions aimed at reducing work-related stress for individual healthcare workers may lead to improvements in how people cope with stress up to a year later. Findings from a Cochrane review of the latest
available evidence build on the conclusions of a previous review in 2015 that found low-quality evidence that interventions, such as cognitive behavioural training (CBT), mental and physical relaxation, were better than none. The researchers included 117 studies of the effects
of different interventions on stress alleviation in the current review, of which 89 studies were new. These 89 studies were published between 2013 and 2022. A total of 11,119 healthcare workers worldwide were randomised to different interventions, and stress was assessed by questionnaires measuring stress symptoms in the short term (up to three months after an intervention ended), in the medium term (between three and 12 months) and long-term (follow-up after more than a year). The review from Cochrane, a collaboration
of independent, international experts, looked at interventions at the level of the individual healthcare worker that focused attention either on the experience of stress, or away from the experience of stress. Strategies for focusing attention on the stress included CBT, and training on assertiveness, coping and communication skills. Interventions that focus attention away from the stress included relaxation, mindfulness
meditation, exercise such as yoga and tai chi, massage, acupuncture, and listening to music. The researchers wanted to see whether different types of interventions were better than no intervention in reducing stress. The healthcare workers in the studies were experiencing low to moderate levels of stress and burnout, which can lead to physical symptoms such as headaches, muscle tension or pain, but also mental symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, impaired concentration and emotional and relationship problems. Sietske Tamminga, assistant professor in public and occupational health at Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, who led the research said: “Healthcare workers often deal with stressful and emotional situations in
patient care, human suffering, and pressure from relationships with patients, family members and employers, as well as high work demands and long working hours. “We found that healthcare workers might be
able to reduce their stress by means of individual- level interventions such as cognitive behaviour training, exercising or listening to music. This may be beneficial for the healthcare workers themselves and it may spill over to the patients they care for, and the organisations they work for. The effect may last for up to a year and a combination of interventions may be beneficial as well, at least in the short term. Employers should not hesitate to facilitate a range of stress interventions for their employees. The long-term effects of stress management interventions remain unknown.”
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