Background: Addiction and mental health (AMH) professionals often experience high levels of burnout, which can lead to detrimental outcomes for patient care and safety and the AMH professional themselves. Interventions aimed at improving well-being can be useful to tackle the issues surrounding burnout. Specifically, implementing activity-based events (ABEs), which encourages individuals to be more physically active, can be useful in improving physical, mental, and social well-being. Alberta Health Services AMH, Edmonton Zone, implemented a Sports Day event to promote well-being as a way to help offset the risk of burnout. Methods: This was an online anonymous cross-sectional, postsurvey evaluation. The postsurvey was administered to 243 AMH staff and physicians who registered for Sports Day. Findings: The responses from 66 AMH staff and physician attendees indicated that individuals were highly satisfied with the event and felt that Sports Day promoted positive mental and physical well-being, helped to develop a sense of community, and strengthened colleague relationships. Conclusions/Application to Professional Practice: The results build on the literature examining the effects of single-day ABEs and can be implemented by health care organizations to promote staff and physician well-being via increased physical activity. Single-day ABEs, like Sports Day, can promote mental, physical, and social well-being. Organizing a sports day event is a feasible way to help offset the risk of burnout and is generally well received by individuals.
Keywords: activity-based events; addiction and mental health; physical activity; staff well-being; workplace wellness.