For Cancer Care Workers, One-Day Workshop Improves Stress Recovery

For cancer care workers, a one-day interventional workshop can improve recovery from job stress, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology.

Anne A. Poulsen, Ph.D., from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and colleagues examined the effects of a one-day workshop plus educational material versus written educational material alone among 70 cancer care workers.

The authors assessed recovery experiences, satisfaction with recovery-related self-care practices, and perceived sleep quality.

The researchers found that there were greater mean changes in total recovery experiences (P = 0.008), self-care satisfaction (P = 0.005), and perceived sleep quality (P = 0.003) at six weeks after the workshop for workshop participants.

Over the six-week period there was a decrease in the scores of the control group for all measures. Workshop participants did not experience this decline but exhibited increased mean scores versus controls, with a significant main effect six weeks after the workshop (P = 0.008).

“A one-day intervention workshop improved recovery skills, satisfaction with self-care practices, and perceived sleep quality of oncology nurses and radiation therapists,” the authors write. “This intervention has the potential to enhance resilience and prevent burnout at different points in a cancer worker’s career.”

Poulsen is the director of Work Life Balance Solutions.

Reference

1. Poulsen, Anne A., et al. “Evaluation of the effect of a 1-day interventional workshop on recovery from job stress for radiation therapists and oncology nurses: A randomised trial.” Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology. DOI: 10.1111/1754-9485.12322. [epub ahead of print]. June 10, 2015.