Evaluation of a staff well-being program in a pediatric oncology, hematology, and palliative care services group
burnout; resilience; self-care; staff well-being; vicarious trauma
Purpose: Challenges experienced by staff in the Oncology Services Group at Queensland Children's Hospital led to issues with staff retention, well-being, and stress on team culture. Therefore, a customized program was developed through a needs analysis to improve the well-being and resilience of oncology staff, enabling them to cope with stressors and critical incidents inherent in their everyday work and to flourish. The program included education, on-site counselors, mindfulness sessions, debriefing, well-being resources, and improved engagement, support, and communication. Methods: Evaluation of the program in the first year examined program participation, staff feedback following education workshops and mindfulness sessions, staff retention rates, and the results of an annual organizational staff survey and a program outcome survey. Results: Approximately 76% of staff attended the Introduction to Well-being workshop, and 98% of responses to survey questions were positive. Staff also provided positive feedback on the other well-being workshops and sessions embedded within existing education programs. Employee Assistance Program counseling sessions had an 81% uptake, with a wide variety of presenting issues, 62% related to work. All participants in mindfulness sessions agreed that it was a valuable tool to improve clinical practice, 94% said it had an immediate positive impact on their well-being, and 70% agreed that they were applying mindfulness principles outside the sessions. Staff retention and turnover improved. Staff reported a positive effect on awareness of self-care, addressing risks to resilience, seeking support from trusted colleagues, coping with critical incidents, and the ability to interact positively with patients and families. Conclusion: The evaluation showed a positive impact on staff well-being. Although there was a wide variety of successful interventions reported in the literature, sustainability needs to be considered. Feedback on this program found that staff appreciated being listened to, valued, and supported through the strategies, and the ongoing program will continue to monitor staff needs and be responsive in building their resilience and well-being.
Slater P J; Edwards R M; Badat A A
Journal of Healthcare Leadership
2018
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.2147/jhl.s176848" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.2147/jhl.s176848</a>
Needs analysis and development of a staff well-being program in a pediatric oncology, hematology, and palliative care services group
burnout; resilience; self-care; staff well-being; vicarious trauma
Purpose: Around 170 multidisciplinary staff of the Oncology Services Group at Queensland Children's Hospital, Brisbane, care for children with oncology, hematology, and palliative care needs from throughout Queensland and northern New South Wales. A series of challenges impacted staff resilience and retention, and strategies were needed to improve staff well-being and enable them to flourish despite the inherent work stressors. Methods: A needs analysis was conducted using themes from Discovery Interviews with 51 staff, surveys related to "The Work Stressors Scale - Pediatric Oncology" and "The Work Rewards Scale - Pediatric Oncology" completed by 59 staff, and an organizational staff survey responded to by 51 staff. Results: The needs analysis informed the development of a customized Oncology Staff Well-being Program with a range of strategies aligned to a PERMA framework for flourishing (positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment). Positive emotion areas included education on topics such as well-being, resilience, responding to escalating behaviors, grief and loss, and self-care. Staff attended the available mindfulness sessions, debriefing and counselors on site, developed self-care plans, and followed a well-being Facebook Group. Engagement was supported through exploring character strengths, improving communication, supporting innovation, and addressing frustrations and safety concerns. Relationships within the team were addressed through team building and social events. Meaning of the work was emphasized through sharing family updates and end of treatment celebrations. Accomplishments of staff were acknowledged in newsletters and meetings. Conclusion: The needs analysis drove a multifaceted approach to staff well-being with the development of strategies which aligned to a framework that would empower staff to flourish at work. Implementation and evaluation are ongoing and will be reported in a subsequent paper.
Slater P J; Edwards R M
Journal of Healthcare Leadership
2018
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.2147/jhl.s172665" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.2147/jhl.s172665</a>