New computerized course: Pandemic stress vaccine for health-care workers
worldwide
TORONTO, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ - Experts know that a pandemic can increase
stress-related absenteeism among health-care workers. To help prevent this, a
team of Mount Sinai Hospital psychiatrists and nurses have developed The
Pandemic Influenza Stress Vaccine, a computerized course for health-care
workers worldwide to build their resilience during a pandemic.
Based on the SARS outbreak in 2003, Mount Sinai experts understand that the
spike in health-care workers' stress-related absenteeism results from fear of
contagion, concern for family health, job stress, interpersonal, isolation,
and perceived stigma. That's why Mount Sinai researchers Dr. Robert Maunder
and Dr. William Lancee led a pilot study of computerized training for 150
Mount Sinai health-care workers in 2009. The results suggest that the training
improves health-care workers' belief that they can handle the changes a
pandemic brings, confidence in support and training, and interpersonal
problems. This also suggests that the training may be able reduce
stress-related absenteeism.
From these findings, the researchers are launching The Pandemic Influenza
Stress Vaccine course, which will be an education tool and also the basis of
pandemic resilience research.
"We want to prevent stress-related absenteeism by teaching health-care workers
how to cope and using education to build their confidence," explains Dr.
Maunder. "Our pilot study suggests that the course works when it is provided
to health-care workers prior to a pandemic in order to reduce the impact of
stress after exposure. Now that the H1N1 pandemic has started, there is a
strong incentive to provide the course to English-speaking health-care workers
worldwide." At the same time, Dr. Maunder emphasizes the need to test the
training under real-world conditions.
The course is available over the Internet making it widely accessible at no
cost for the health-care workers. The goal is to reach 3,000 health-care
workers worldwide.
"This course addresses many of health-care workers' common fears and
concerns," explains Gillian Wilde, Mount Sinai Nurse Clinician in the
Emergency Department, who also took the course as part of the pilot study.
"Because of the course, I know that experiencing stress during a pandemic is a
normal response. However, it doesn't mean that I have to feel helpless or
afraid. I now have more tools that I can use to maintain my physical and
emotional health during a pandemic."
The course is now live. It is part of a randomized control trial.
Hospital-based health-care workers can register at
www.msh-healthyminds.com/stressvaccine. The pilot study was funded by Canadian
Institutes for Health Research.
SOURCE Mount Sinai Hospital
Media contact: Melissa McDermott, Mount Sinai Hospital, (416) 586-4800 ext.
3161, mmcdermott@mtsinai.on.ca
