Development and Validation of Single-Session Digital Self-Guided Intervention to Prevent Burnout & Improve Wellness

NCT07583420 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 26-088
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 250
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

This study develops and evaluates a self-guided digital single-session mental health intervention designed to reduce workplace burnout and enhance psychological well-being among employed Canadian adults. Workplace burnout, characterized by emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy, affects approximately 40% of Canadian employees and leads to increased absenteeism, reduced productivity, and higher disability claims. Traditional mental health supports face barriers including long wait times, stigma, and accessibility issues. Single-Session Interventions (SSIs) offer a practical, cost-effective, and scalable complement to traditional services. This is a randomized, double-arm, online trial. Participants are recruited via Prolific and randomly assigned (1:1) to either the experimental single-session burnout intervention or an active control condition focused on creative writing. The intervention focuses on its unique delivery of content focused on the evidence-based techniques, such as cognitive reframing, stress management, and behavioural strategies. The active control matches the intervention in length, structure, and user experience but omits the specific therapeutic ingredients. All procedures are conducted entirely online through Qualtrics. Participants are compensated for their participation. Participants complete three sessions over approximately 30 days: A baseline survey (about 10 minutes); A program session and immediate follow-up (about 40 minutes); And a 30-day follow-up survey (about 10 minutes). Outcome measures include burnout (MBI-16), perceived stress (PSS-10), depressive symptoms (PHQ-8), anxiety (GAD-7), general health (GHQ-12), well-being (WHO-5), work engagement (UWES-3), readiness to change, perceived impact, and program feedback/acceptability. Main outcomes are examined using mixed-effects linear regression with a participant-level random intercept to test the group × time interaction across baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up.

Conditions

Burnout, Professionals; Wellness, Psychological

Keywords

Workplace burnout; single-session intervention; self-guided digital intervention; psychological well-being; occupational stress; burnout prevention; employee mental health

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (7)

• Burnout - Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-16)

  The Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) is a 16-item self-report measure of occupational burnout, comprising three subscales: Exhaustion (5 items), Cynicism (5 items), and Professional Efficacy (6 items). Each item is rated on a 7-point frequency scale ranging from 1 ("never") to 7 ("every day"). Subscale scores are calculated as the sum of items within each subscale. Possible ranges are: Exhaustion 5-35, Cynicism 5-35, and Professional Efficacy 6-42. Higher scores on the Exhaustion and Cynicism subscales indicate greater burnout (worse outcome). Higher scores on the Professional Efficacy subscale indicate greater perceived effectiveness (better outcome).

  T1 - Baseline Pre-Intervention (Day 1); T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2); T3 - Follow-up Assessment (Day 30)

• Perceived Stress - Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10)

  The Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10; Cohen, Kamarck, \& Mermelstein, 1983) is a 10-item self-report measure of the degree to which situations in one's life are appraised as unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale from 0 ("never") to 5 ("very often"). Four positively-worded items are reverse-scored prior to summation. Total scores range from 0 to 50. Higher scores indicate greater perceived stress (worse outcome).

  T1 - Baseline Pre-Intervention (Day 1); T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2); T3 - Follow-up Assessment (Day 30)

• Depressive Symptoms - Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8)

  The Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8; Kroenke et al., 2009) is an 8-item self-report measure of depressive symptom severity over the past two weeks. Each item is rated on a 4-point scale from 0 ("not at all") to 3 ("nearly every day"). The total score is the sum of all items. Total scores range from 0 to 24. Higher scores indicate greater depressive symptom severity (worse outcome).

  T1 - Baseline Pre-Intervention (Day 1); T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2); T3 - Follow-up Assessment (Day 30)

• Anxiety - Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7)

  The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 (GAD-7; Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams, \& Löwe, 2006) is a 7-item self-report measure of anxiety symptom severity over the past two weeks. Each item is rated on a 4-point scale from 0 ("not at all") to 3 ("nearly every day"). The total score is the sum of all items. Total scores range from 0 to 21. Higher scores indicate greater anxiety symptom severity (worse outcome).

  T1 - Baseline Pre-Intervention (Day 1); T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2); T3 - Follow-up Assessment (Day 30)

• General Health - General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12)

  The General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12; Goldberg et al., 1997) is a 12-item self-report screen for psychological distress and general mental health over the past few weeks. Each item is rated on a 4-point response scale (e.g., "more so than usual," "about the same as usual," "less so than usual," "much less than usual"). Items are scored using the Likert method (0-1-2-3 per item), with negatively-worded items reverse-coded so that higher item scores reflect worse health. Total scores range from 0 to 36. Higher scores indicate greater psychological distress and worse general mental health (worse outcome).

  T1 - Baseline Pre-Intervention (Day 1); T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2); T3 - Follow-up Assessment (Day 30)

• Well-Being - WHO Well-Being Index (WHO-5)

  The World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5; WHO, 1998) is a 5-item self-report measure of subjective psychological well-being over the past two weeks. Each item is rated on a 6-point scale from 0 ("at no time") to 5 ("all of the time"). The raw total score (0-25) is multiplied by 4 to yield a percentage-based score. Final scores range from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate greater subjective well-being (better outcome). A score below 50 is conventionally considered to indicate reduced well-being.

  T1 - Baseline Pre-Intervention (Day 1); T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2); T3 - Follow-up Assessment (Day 30)

• Work Engagement - Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-3)

  The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-3 (UWES-3; Schaufeli, Shimazu, Hakanen, Salanova, \& De Witte, 2019) is a 3-item ultra-short self-report measure of work engagement, with one item each for vigor, dedication, and absorption. Each item is rated on a 7-point frequency scale from 0 ("never") to 6 ("always / every day"). The total score is computed as the mean of the three items. The total score ranges from 0 to 6. Higher scores indicate greater work engagement (better outcome).

  T1 - Baseline Pre-Intervention (Day 1); T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2); T3 - Follow-up Assessment (Day 30)

Other Outcomes (3)

• Readiness to Change (3-item) Adapted from Motivational Interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 2013)

  T1 - Baseline Pre-Intervention (Day 1); T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2); T3 - Follow-up Assessment (Day 30)

• Program Feedback/Acceptability (7-item) Measured by an Adapted Version of the Program Feedback Scale (PFS; Schleider, Dobias, Sung, & Mullarkey, 2020)

  T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2)

• Perceived Impact (3-item) Measured by Three Investigator-Developed Anchor-Based Items (Anvari & Lakens, 2021)

  T2 - Post-Intervention Assessment (Day 2)

Study Arms (2)

Single-Session Burnout Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

A self-guided digital program that delivers evidence-based therapeutic content, including cognitive reframing, stress management, behavioural boundary-setting techniques, and self-care practices.

Behavioral: Single-Session Intervention to Prevent Burnout & Enhance Psychological Wellness

Creative Writing

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

A matched-length, structurally parallel module focused on creative writing. Matches the intervention in layout, pacing, and aesthetic style but intentionally omits therapeutic ingredients.

Behavioral: Creative Writing

Interventions

Creative Writing BEHAVIORAL

A matched-length, structurally parallel module focused on creative writing. Matches the intervention in layout, pacing, and aesthetic style but intentionally omits therapeutic ingredients.

Creative Writing

Single-Session Intervention to Prevent Burnout & Enhance Psychological Wellness BEHAVIORAL

The intervention was developed based on a comprehensive systematic review (Phase 1 of the dissertation) that screened 2,349 records and included 27 final studies examining self-guided digital mental health interventions. The design and content of the current intervention are grounded in the best practices identified through that systematic review. Testimonials serve as the core delivery method for the intervention's "active ingredients." The systematic review showed that testimonials communicate information through narrative, enhance engagement and memory retention, leverage mechanisms such as mirror-neuron activation, reduce resistance, and promote behavioural activation. Each testimonial is purposefully designed to deliver specific therapeutic content, including cognitive reframing strategies to manage workplace stress, behavioural techniques for setting boundaries, and self-care practices for daily work routines.

Single-Session Burnout Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 19 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• years of age or older
• Currently employed full-time
• Reside in Canada
• Not currently receiving treatment for a significant physical or mental health condition (e.g., ongoing psychotherapy or psychiatric care)
• Sufficient English proficiency to understand the intervention materials and complete all study assessments

You may not qualify if:

• Being under 19 years of age
• Being unemployed, retired, or a student who is not concurrently employed
• Residing outside Canada
• Currently engaging in significant mental health treatment

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Saint Mary's University (Canada): lead

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Burnout, Psychological; Psychological Well-Being; Occupational Stress

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Stress, Psychological; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Personal Satisfaction; Occupational Diseases

Central Study Contacts

Ehsan Etezad

CONTACT

902-420-5400; ehsan@ehsanetezad.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: PhD Candidate in Applied Organizational Psychology

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 27, 2026
• First Posted: May 13, 2026
• Study Start: April 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2026
• Last Updated: May 13, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-05