Personal interventions to prevent or manage staff burnout

Burnout is an individual reaction in response to high job demands and low job resources. [1] Individuals who are burnt out exhibit high levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and low levels of accomplishment. [1] Aged care workers are especially at risk in developing burnout due to the chronic interpersonal stressors of their work and can negatively affect the quality of work performance. [2-4] Implementing suitable interventions, whether at the individual or organisational level, or through a combination of both, can mitigate burnout among aged care workers. [2] Personal interventions attempt to increase aged care worker’s psychological resources to cope with workplace stressors. [5] Organisational interventions focuses on changing the occupational context to reduce sources of stress within the workplace. [5] A combined intervention takes on both personal and organisational perspectives. [5]  A separate evidence theme was developed, reporting organisational interventions within the research. There were no findings on combined interventions relative to staff burnout for aged care workers.

This evidence theme on personal interventions is a summary of one of the key topics identified by a scoping review of the staff burnout research. If you need more specific or comprehensive information on this topic, try using our PubMed searches provided below. 

The 2022 scoping review found nine studies on personal interventions to mitigate burnout among aged care workers. [6-14] The 2023 update found an additional four studies that contributed to this theme. [15-18] This evidence theme provides research findings on effective personal interventions for the aged care workforce. Personal interventions were allocated into three categories including:  

• Skill Training (six interventions): self-care skills, compassion fatigue awareness training, stress management, refocus emotion regulation, improve skills on understanding and supporting challenging behaviour, participatory action-research (PAR) intervention. [6, 7, 12, 15]
• Mindfulness (four interventions): yoga, mindful meditation, mindfulness-based stress reduction, mindfulness based cognitive therapy. [11, 17, 18]
• Gratitude (one intervention): gratitude journal. [16]

A list of interventions is available below, which report on delivery, significant (improvement and deteriorating) and non-significant outcomes, and duration of effectiveness.

*Note: Burnout subscales include emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and personal accomplishment.

Skills training intervention

Self-care skills [7] 

• Mode of delivery: In-person
• Significant improvement outcomes: Increased staff retention, quality of life, compassion satisfaction, and personal. accomplishment. Decreased emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, secondary traumatic stress.
• Significant deteriorating outcomes: No outcome identified.
• No significant outcomes: No outcome identified.
• Duration of effectiveness: 1 to 4 months.

The self-care skill was a 90-minute interactive educational presentation which included 12 short videos embedded in the presentation (What is in your self-care skills toolbox?) 

Compassion fatigue awareness training [7]

• Mode of delivery: In-person
• Significant improvement outcomes: Increased staff retention, quality of life, compassion satisfaction, and personal. accomplishment. Decreased emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, secondary traumatic stress.
• Significant deteriorating outcomes: No outcome identified.
• No significant outcomes: No outcome identified.
• Duration of effectiveness: 1 to 4 months.

Stress management [6] 

• Mode of delivery: Web-based
• Significant improvement outcomes: Decreased emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation.
• Significant deteriorating outcomes: No outcome identified.
• No significant outcomes: There were no statistically significant differences in personal accomplishment outcomes.
• Duration of effectiveness: Post-intervention, 1 month.

Refocus emotion regulation [12, 14] 

• Mode of delivery: Not reported [12, 15]
• Significant improvement outcomes: Decreased depersonalisation, cynicism, and social distancing. [12, 15]
• Significant deteriorating outcomes: No outcome identified. [12, 15]
• No significant outcomes: There were no statistically significant differences in emotional exhaustion and personal. accomplishment outcomes. [12, 15]
• Duration of effectiveness: Not measured. [12, 15]

Improve skills on understanding and supporting challenging behaviour [8-10, 13] 

• Mode of delivery: In-person training session [8-10, 13]
• Significant improvement outcomes: Increased job satisfaction, [10] quality of life [8], and feelings of burnout. [13]
• Significant deteriorating outcomes: No outcome identified.
• No significant outcomes: There were no statistically significant differences for burnout (all-subscale) outcomes. [8-10]
• Duration of effectiveness: Not measured, [10, 13] 4-months, [9], 7 months. [8]

*Note: The study by Smythe et al. [13] reported qualitatively on burnout outcomes.

Participatory action research (PAR) intervention [14]

• Mode of delivery: In-person
• Significant improvement outcomes:  No outcome identified.
• Significant deteriorating outcomes: No outcome identified.
• No significant outcomes: Burnout (all subscales).
• Duration of effectiveness: 12 months.

Mindfulness intervention 

Yoga  [11, 17] 

• Mode of delivery: In-person (60 minutes per week) [11, 17]
• Significant improvement outcomes: Decreased emotional exhaustion, stress, and intention to leave. Improved personal accomplishment. [11, 17]
• Significant deteriorating outcomes: No outcome identified. [11, 17]
• No significant outcomes: There were no statistically significant differences in depersonalisation outcomes. [11, 17]
• Duration of effectiveness: Not measured. [11, 17]

Mindful meditation [17] 

• Mode of delivery: In person
• Significant improvement outcomes: Decreased emotional exhaustion, stress, and intention to leave. Improved personal accomplishment.
• Significant deteriorating outcomes: No outcome identified.
• No significant outcomes: There were no statistically significant differences in depersonalisation outcomes.
• Duration of effectiveness: Not measured.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) [18] 

• Mode of delivery: Online training
• Significant improvement outcomes: Decreased compassion fatigue, emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Increased personal accomplishment.
• Significant deteriorating outcomes: No outcome identified
• No significant outcomes: No outcome identified
• Duration of effectiveness: 3 months

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) [18] 

• Mode of delivery: Online training
• Significant improvement outcomes: Decreased compassion fatigue, emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Increased personal accomplishment.
• Significant deteriorating outcomes: No outcome identified.
• No significant outcomes: No outcome identified.
• Duration of effectiveness: 3 months.

Gratitude interventions 

Gratitude journal [16] 

• Mode of delivery: In person
• Significant improvement outcomes: Increased personal accomplishment and decreased emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation.
• Significant deteriorating outcomes: No outcome identified.
• No significant outcomes: No outcome identified.
• Duration of effectiveness: 21 days.

• Engage in skill training programs focusing on self-efficacy, self-care, compassion fatigue awareness training, stress management, refocus emotion regulation, and skill training for challenging behaviours.
• Incorporate mindfulness into daily routines through activities such as yoga, mindful meditation, mindfulness-based stress reduction, or mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.
• Foster a sense of gratitude by maintaining a gratitude journal and reflecting on positive aspects in both personal and professional life.

• Establish organisational initiatives for comprehensive skill training programs. These programs should be tailored to the unique challenges faced by aged care workers.
• Consider implementing gratitude journaling as a routine activity and provide resources or platforms for staff to share and acknowledge positive experiences.

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