Use of Death Cafes to Prevent Burnout in ICU Healthcare Employees

NCT04347811 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2019-908
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 340
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 4

Brief Summary

Burnout affects a significant number of healthcare employees and leads to worsened mental health, increased job turnover, and patient safety events. Those caring for critically ill patients may be especially susceptible due to high patient mortality, long hours, and regular encounters with traumatic and ethical issues. Preliminary studies suggest that debriefing opportunities may reduce burnout through reflection on distressing patient events, enhancement of social support, and interprofessional collaboration. Death Cafés are a specific form of debriefing that focus on discussing death, dying, loss, and illness. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether biweekly Death Cafe group debriefing sessions can prevent burnout in ICU physicians and staff.

Conditions

Burnout; Burnout, Professional; Burnout, Psychological; Anxiety; Depression

Keywords

Critical Care; Nurses; Physicians; Healthcare Workers; Death; Grief; Stress, Psychological; Occupational Stress; Behavioral Symptoms; Coping Skills; Clinical Trial

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Differences in Burnout as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory Score (MBI).

  This is a validated 22-item, self-reported questionnaire that asks respondents to indicate on a 7 point Likert scale the frequency of certain feelings related to their job. Presence of burnout is defined by high values of depersonalization and emotional exhaustion with low values for personal accomplishment. Changes in mean scores between groups and within groups over time will be assessed.

  At the time of enrollment and at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months after enrollment

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Differences in Depression as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire 8 (PHQ-8)

  At the time of enrollment and at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months after enrollment

• Differences in Anxiety as measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 Scale (GAD-7)

  At the time of enrollment and at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months after enrollment

Study Arms (2)

Death Cafe Arm

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants undergo biweekly Death Café sessions hosted by a trained psychotherapist for 3 months.

Behavioral: Death Cafe

Control Arm

NO INTERVENTION

Participants do not undergo biweekly Death Café sessions hosted by a trained psychotherapist for 3 months.

Interventions

Death Cafe BEHAVIORAL

Death Cafés are a specific form of debriefing that focuses on discussing death, dying, loss, and illness. Nourishment in the form of cake is provided. These sessions may allow for reflection on distressing patient events while developing a sense of community and collaboration among hospital employees.

Death Cafe Arm

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, or therapists working in the Intensive Care Unit and have worked for the full-time equivalent of at least 1 week in the preceding 4 weeks

You may not qualify if:

• Not physicians, nurses, pharmacists, or therapists
• Have worked less than the full-time equivalent of at least 1 week in the preceding 4 weeks

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Tulane University School of Medicine: lead
• Spirit of Charity Foundation - University Medical Center: collaborator

Study Sites (4)

Tulane Medical Center

New Orleans, Louisiana, 70112, United States

Location

University Medical Center

New Orleans, Louisiana, 70112, United States

Location

Children's Hospital New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana, 70118, United States

Location

Ochsner Medical Center

New Orleans, Louisiana, 70121, United States

Location

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• Bateman ME, Chung CH, Mascarenhas E, Hammer R, Ravindran N, Panjshiri F, Mehta P, Byrne A, Lasky S, Denson R, Brown M, Halton B, Chiurco J, Ferrell S, Ruiz B, Wentowski C, Shukla I, Bauer H, Sarma A, Bhyravabhotla K, Zu Y, Peacock E, Lefante J, Epere J, Denson JL. STOPTHEBURN: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Death Cafes for Burnout Prevention in Intensive Care Unit Employees. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2024 Nov;21(11):1572-1582. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202312-1024OC.

  PMID: 39052070 DERIVED

• Bateman ME, Hammer R, Byrne A, Ravindran N, Chiurco J, Lasky S, Denson R, Brown M, Myers L, Zu Y, Denson JL. Death Cafes for prevention of burnout in intensive care unit employees: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (STOPTHEBURN). Trials. 2020 Dec 11;21(1):1019. doi: 10.1186/s13063-020-04929-4.

  PMID: 33308290 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Burnout, Psychological; Burnout, Professional; Anxiety Disorders; Depression; Death; Stress, Psychological; Occupational Stress; Behavioral Symptoms

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior; Occupational Diseases; Mental Disorders; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Marjorie E Bateman, MD

  Tulane University School of Medicine

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Joshua Denson, MD

  Tulane University School of Medicine

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 12, 2020
• First Posted: April 15, 2020
• Study Start: July 20, 2020
• Primary Completion: December 26, 2022
• Study Completion: December 26, 2022
• Last Updated: February 6, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (4)