Delivery of a psychological intervention to assess and reduce workplace stress among intensive care staff

Abstract

Introduction: Intensive care staff have high levels of stress. We conducted a service improvement initiative to assess workplace stress levels among staff in one adult general intensive care unit and deliver a stress management intervention. Methods: A psychological intervention of four stress management sessions, and fortnightly staff support drop-in groups, was developed and delivered within a year. Pre- and post-intervention, workplace stress in the unit was assessed using a Health and Safety Executive tool. Results: Pre-intervention assessment of 76 (47.2%) staff indicated that improvement was needed in all domains of workplace stress. 125 staff (77.6%) participated in the intervention and gave positive ratings for content, relevance, practicality and personal value (median 4 (1–5); interquartile range 3.8–4.6). Post-intervention assessment of 71 staff (41.3%) demonstrated improvements in all workplace stress domains. Conclusion: A reduction in workplace stress was observed following a service improvement intervention in one intensive care unit although no causality can be assumed. Similar interventions should be evaluated using robust study designs.