Fostering Optimal Regulation of Emotion for Prevention of Secondary Trauma (FOREST)

NCT05942469 | Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: STU00219630
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 100
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

FOREST is a positive emotion skills program designed to target mental health and coping needs for frontline violence prevention workers at UCAN. Ten skills are taught over a period of nine months during existing meetings and wellness activities, as well as in online modules in UCAN's Learning Management System (LMS). Through infusing the FOREST skills throughout UCAN, we hope to inspire organizational culture change that will emphasize the importance of wellbeing and enhance resilience, therefore reducing burnout and turnover.

Conditions

Burnout; Burnout, Professional; Positive Affect; Depression; Anxiety; Compassion Fatigue; Job Stress

Keywords

Burnout; Anxiety; Depression; Positive Emotion; Coping; Job Stress

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (8)

• Decrease in burnout measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI).

  The MBI evaluates burnout severity based on three aspects: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment, with higher scores on the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization subscales, and lower scores on the personal accomplishments subscale, indicating increased levels of burnout. Responses on the scale range from "never" to "every day."

  12 months

• Increase in positive affect measured by PROMIS Short Form v1.0- Positive Affect 15a.

  PROMIS Positive Affect assesses momentary positive or rewarding affective experiences, such as feelings and mood associated with pleasure, joy, elation, contentment, pride, affection, happiness, engagement, and excitement. Responses options range from "Not at all" to "Very much" with higher scores indicate higher levels of positive affect.

  12 months

• Decrease in depression measured by PROMIS Short Form v1.0- Depression 4a.

  PROMIS Depression Bank assesses self-reported negative mood (sadness, guilt), views of self (self-criticism, worthlessness), and social cognition (loneliness, interpersonal alienation), as well as decreased positive affect and engagement (loss of interest, meaning, and purpose). Response options range from "Never" to "Always" with higher scores indicate higher levels of depression.

  12 months

• Decrease in anxiety measured by PROMIS Short Form v1.0- Anxiety 4a.

  PROMIS Anxiety Bank assesses self-reported fear (fearfulness, panic), anxious misery (worry, dread), hyperarousal (tension, nervousness, restlessness), and somatic symptoms related to arousal (racing heart, dizziness). Response options range from "Never" to "Always" with higher scores indicate higher levels of anxiety.

  12 months

• Measure of trauma exposure using the Lifetime Events Checklist (LEC).

  The LEC measures trauma exposure, including the ability to differentiate direct experience vs work-related or other secondary exposure through a series of questions about stressful events, with responses including "happened to me," "witnessed it," "learned about it," "not sure," and "doesn't apply," followed up by a question asking if the experience happened as part of one's job. There is no formal scoring protocol or interpretation per se, other than identifying whether a person has experienced one or more of the events listed.

  12 months

• Measure of PTSD symptoms using the the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5).

  The PCL-5 is a 20-item self-report measure that assesses the 20 DSM-5 symptoms of PTSD. Responses range from "not at all" to "extremely," with higher scores indicating higher occurrence of PTSD symptoms.

  12 months

• Increase in meaning and purpose measured by PROMIS Short Form v1.0- Meaning and Purpose 4a.

  PROMIS Meaning and Purpose Bank assesses one's sense of life having purpose and that there are good reasons for living. Higher scores indicate hopefulness, optimism, goal-directedness, and feelings that one's life is worthy.

  12 months

• Improvement in professional quality of life/well-being measured by Eudaimonic Workplace Well-being Scale (EWWS).

  EWWS measures workplace well-being on both interpersonal and intrapersonal dimensions through a series of eight statements where respondents indicate how strongly they relate to those statements. Values range from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree," with higher scores reflecting higher workplace well-being/quality of life.

  12 months

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Decrease in staff turnover.

  12 months

• Increase in staff retention

  12 months

• Increase in staff promotion

  12 months

• Decrease in use of sick days

  12 months

Study Arms (1)

FOREST + Assessments

EXPERIMENTAL

UCAN staff will participate in Monthly Skill Sessions and complete FOREST content modules in the Learning Management System (LMS). Staff will also be invited to complete annual assessments for primary and secondary outcome measures, as well as annual interviews and focus groups to gather feedback on progress, implementation, and content.

Behavioral: FOREST

Interventions

FOREST BEHAVIORAL

The skill sessions will include didactic content defining the skill, rationale for including the skill in FOREST, and research demonstrating that practice of the skill increases positive emotion. In addition, the group will practice the skill together and will discuss ways to practice the skill at work as well as outside of work. Throughout the month, PEAs will implement the FOREST skill of the month in other existing meetings, check-ins, and team outings. Concurrently, a module in UCAN's learning management system (LMS) will become available. The LMS modules will contain skill-related content similar to what is taught in the skill sessions, including a thorough definition of the skill, examples of ways to utilize the skill, a review or summary of the skill, and several knowledge questions to check for comprehension. The LMS content may include text, audio, images, and video components.

FOREST + Assessments

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Age 18 and over
• Currently employed by UCAN
• Has internet access
• Speaks and reads English

You may not qualify if:

• None

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Northwestern University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Chicago, Illinois, 60611, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Burnout, Psychological; Burnout, Professional; Depression; Anxiety Disorders; Compassion Fatigue; Occupational Stress

Interventions

Forests

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Stress, Psychological; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Occupational Diseases; Mental Disorders; Mental Fatigue; Fatigue; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Ecosystem; Environment; Ecological and Environmental Phenomena; Biological Phenomena; Environment and Public Health

Study Officials

• Judith Moskowitz, PhD, MPH

  Northwestern University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Amanda Summers, MA

CONTACT

3125035247; amanda.summers@northwestern.edu

Caroline Leong, BA

CONTACT

caroline.leong1@northwestern.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 26, 2023
• First Posted: July 12, 2023
• Study Start: March 18, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2026
• Last Updated: September 2, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Locations

US (1)