Promoting durable well-being among healthcare professionals via an interactive, online, wellness initiative.

Abstract

Burnout is recognized as a negative contributor to well-being within healthcare. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether participation in the Peace Education Program (PEP), a 10-week wellness course, promoted durable improvement of burnout and wellness in a large academic medical center. We deployed PEP virtually through a series of free, interactive, online wellness sessions focusing on 10 domains: peace, appreciation, inner strength, self-awareness, clarity, understanding, dignity, choice, hope, and contentment. Two weeks before and six months following the sessions, we distributed de-identified surveys based upon the validated Schwartz Outcome Scale-10 (SOS-10) with Likert scale scores 0-6 to assess participant wellness. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze statistical differences between post- and pre-course data. Sixty-nine faculty, trainees, and staff registered to participate, 21 participants completed the pre-course survey and 10 completed the post-course survey. The pre-course mean + standard error (SE) SOS-10 score was 43.2 ± 0.8, which improved to 51.0 ± 0.7 post-course (P < 0.001). Overall, all 10 domains demonstrated improved mean scores over time, with the five domains of "inner strength" (P = 0.008), "understanding" (P = 0.030), "peace" (P = 0.048), "choice" (P = 0.026), and "hope" (P = 0.020) demonstrating statistically significant score improvements six months after course completion. Participants completing ≥7 sessions benefited more than their counterparts and achieved statistically significant improvement in SOS-10 wellness scores (8.77 points) six months after course completion. Our findings demonstrate improved wellness in participants following peace education course completion. This free, interactive, online course may be utilized at other medical centers to improve wellness.