Written Exposure Therapy for Nurses

NCT06432374 | Completed Early Phase 1

• 1 other identifier: HUM00203166
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 10
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Nurses often experience elevated levels of stress, overwork, and trauma in the workplace, leading to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, burnout, and even nurse turnover. While effective therapies for PTSD exist, barriers to treatment arise from nursing culture, such as workplace stigma about mental health problems, fear that psychological status may impact performance evaluations, and demands of shiftwork. There is a pressing need for scalable evidence-based interventions tailored to nursing culture to effectively address PTSD and related mental health issues. The study aimed to assess the feasibility, safety, and acceptability of a tailored evidence-based treatment, Written Exposure Therapy (WET), for nurses experiencing work-related traumatic stress. This single-arm open pilot study with pre- and post-intervention assessments, included participants from two nursing schools' alumni. Eligibility criteria included nurses screening positive for work-related trauma with a report of at least two PTSD symptoms. Participants engaged in a self-administered, asynchronous, five-week online writing session, facilitated by WET-trained nurses. Outcomes measures (PTSD, depression, anxiety, burnout, and intention to quit) were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 5-weeks follow-up.

Conditions

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Depressive Symptoms; Burn Out; Anxiety; Work Related Stress

Keywords

Nurses; Written Exposure Therapy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Posttraumatic stress disorder

  The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 was used to assess symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in the past month. The total score ranges from 0-80, with higher scores indicating more severe PTSD symptoms.

  Baseline, immediately post-intervention, and 5 weeks follow-up

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Depression

  Baseline, immediately post-intervention, and 5 weeks follow-up

• Anxiety

  Baseline, immediately post-intervention, and 5 weeks follow-up

• Professional Quality of Life

  Baseline, immediately post-intervention, and 5 weeks follow-up

• Intention to Quit

  Baseline, immediately post-intervention, and 5 weeks follow-up

Study Arms (1)

Written Exposure Therapy

EXPERIMENTAL

WET is a trauma-focused therapy for PTSD. It includes five writing sessions.

Behavioral: WET

Interventions

WET BEHAVIORAL

The five weekly WET sessions were delivered online via Canvas. Five session modules were created, each containing writing instructions for the respective session and an assignment feature for participants to upload their narratives. All sessions included 30 minutes of writing. Following instructions, participants wrote about a specific work-related trauma event in detail and described the emotions and thoughts experienced during the event. While all sessions were self-paced, participants were advised to complete each subsequent session within one week. Participants had the option to self-administer sessions or participate in Zoom "office hours" for live writing sessions with a facilitator who had completed WET training providing the writing instructions.

Written Exposure Therapy

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Work-related trauma
• Posttraumatic stress disorder

You may not qualify if:

• Current substance abuse
• Current suicidality
• Current psychiatric treatment with psychotherapy or psychotropic medications other than selective serotonin (and norepinephrine) reuptake inhibitors (SSRI/SNRI).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Texas at Austin: lead
• University of Michigan: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48104, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Depression; Burnout, Psychological; Anxiety Disorders; Occupational Stress

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Stress, Psychological; Occupational Diseases

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: early phase 1
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 21, 2024
• First Posted: May 29, 2024
• Study Start: February 1, 2022
• Primary Completion: March 1, 2023
• Study Completion: September 1, 2023
• Last Updated: May 29, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-05

Locations

US (1)