Psychological stress self-help interventions for healthcare workers in the context of COVID-19 in China: A randomized controlled trial protocol

Rui Luo; Pengyue Guo; Menglin Shang; Yuqi Cai; Jinying Huang; Yiling He; Phoenix K H Mo; Anise M S Wu; Roman Dong Xu; Jinghua Li; Joseph T F Lau; Jing Gu

doi:10.1016/j.invent.2022.100541

Psychological stress self-help interventions for healthcare workers in the context of COVID-19 in China: A randomized controlled trial protocol

Internet Interv. 2022 Apr:28:100541. doi: 10.1016/j.invent.2022.100541. Epub 2022 Apr 20.

Authors

Rui Luo¹, Pengyue Guo¹, Menglin Shang¹, Yuqi Cai¹, Jinying Huang², Yiling He³, Phoenix K H Mo^{4

5}, Anise M S Wu⁶, Roman Dong Xu⁷, Jinghua Li^{1

8}, Joseph T F Lau^{4

5

9}, Jing Gu^{1

8}

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, , No.74, Zhongshan second road, Guangzhou, China.
² School of Public Health, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, No.283 Jianghai Avenue, Guangzhou, China.
³ Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, No.9, Jinsui road, Guangzhou 510623, Guangdong, China.
⁴ Division of Behavioral Health and Health Promotion, The School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
⁵ The Chinese University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China.
⁶ Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao, China.
⁷ Acacia Lab for Health Systems Strengthening and Department of Health Management, School of Health Management, School of Health Management, Southern Medical University, 1023 South Shatai Road, Guangzhou 510515, China.
⁸ Sun Yat-sen University Global Health Institute, School of Public Health and Institute of State Governance, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
⁹ Centre for Medical Anthropology and Behavioral Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Background: Public health emergencies may lead to severe psychological stress, especially for healthcare workers, including frontline healthcare workers and public health workers. However, few stress management interventions have been implemented for healthcare workers even though they require more comprehensive interventions than the general public. Self-Help Plus (SH+) is a novel psychological self-help intervention developed by the World Health Organization. It is accessible, scalable, and cost-effective and has the potential to be quickly applied to help people cope with stress and adversity. The major objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of SH+ interventions on the alleviation of stress levels and mental health problems among healthcare workers.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial of SH+ will be conducted to investigate the stress level and mental health status of Chinese healthcare workers and control subjects in Guangzhou. Assessments will be performed before (baseline), at the end of (1 month), and 2 months after (3 months) the intervention. After completing the baseline screening questionnaire, eligible participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two groups in a 1:1 ratio by block randomization. During the 1-month intervention period, the intervention group will receive the SH+ intervention and the control group will receive information about mental health promotion. The intervention will be delivered by the research assistant via social media platforms. The primary outcome is the level of stress, which will be measured by a 10-item Perceived Stress Scale. Secondary outcomes including mental health symptoms will also be collected.

Discussion: Given the potential for multiple COVID-19 waves and other infectious disease pandemics in the future, we expect that SH+ will be an effective stress management intervention for healthcare workers. The findings from this study will facilitate the application of SH+, and the trial is expected to be extended to a larger population in the future.

Keywords: COVID-19; Healthcare workers; Psychological stress; Randomized controlled trial; Self-help.