Efficacy of a Web-Based Tool in Reducing Burnout Among Behavioral Health Clinicians: Results From the PTSD Clinicians Exchange

Kristina Clarke-Walper; Elizabeth A Penix; Felicia Trachtenberg; Erica Simon; Julia Coleman; Ashley Magnavita; Kile Ortigo; Samantha Regala; Lisa Marceau; Josef I Ruzek; Raymond C Rosen; Joshua E Wilk

doi:10.1176/appi.prcp.20190004

Efficacy of a Web-Based Tool in Reducing Burnout Among Behavioral Health Clinicians: Results From the PTSD Clinicians Exchange

Psychiatr Res Clin Pract. 2020 Sep 9;2(1):3-9. doi: 10.1176/appi.prcp.20190004. eCollection 2020 Summer.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Center for Military Psychiatry and Neurosciences Department of Military Psychiatry Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Silver Spring Maryland.
² New England Research Institutes Watertown Massachusetts.
³ National Center for PTSD Dissemination and Training Division U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System Menlo Park California.
⁴ Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research Palo Alto California.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Stanford University Stanford California.

Abstract

Objective: Burnout is widespread among behavioral health clinicians treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among military populations. Intervention-based strategies have shown some benefit in addressing clinician burnout. One Web-based tool, the PTSD Clinicians Exchange, was designed to disseminate clinical best practices for the treatment of PTSD and facilitate self-care to mitigate burnout. This study sought to determine whether this tool could reduce burnout among clinicians treating military populations.

Methods: A total of 605 behavioral health clinicians from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, and the community were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of the PTSD Clinicians Exchange. Clinicians were assessed on demographic characteristics, practice patterns, and organizational support with an online survey at baseline and at 6 and 12 months. Burnout, secondary traumatic stress (STS), and compassion satisfaction were measured with the Professional Quality of Life Scale.

Results: At baseline, no differences were observed in mean±SD burnout scores for the intervention (19.9±5.1) and control groups (20.2±5.4). Participation in the Exchange had no effect on burnout score at 12 months; burnout scores remained stable across the study period. In a multivariable stepwise regression model, older age, lower burnout at baseline, and lower STS scores and higher compassion satisfaction scores at 12 months were significantly associated with lower burnout scores.

Conclusions: The PTSD Clinicians Exchange did not mitigate burnout among clinicians, possibly because of the content provided, the dissemination mechanism, or participants' limited use of the Web site. These results can be used to inform and enhance future interventions.

Keywords: Behavioral health; Burnout; Military psychiatry; PTSD; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Trauma‐ and stressor‐related disorders.