Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 10, 2025
Using Practice Testing, Public Speaking, and Source Monitoring to Examine the Influences of Learning Strategies and Stress on Episodic Memory
Published on: June 14, 2019
The Selah study protocol of three interventions to manage stress among clergy: a preference-based randomized waitlist
Logan C Tice1, David E Eagle2, Joshua A Rash3
1Duke Global Health Institute, Duke Center for Health Policy & Inequalities Research, Duke University, 310 Trent Drive, Durham, NC, 27710, USA. logan.tice@duke.edu.
Introduction:
Like many helping professionals in emotional labor occupations, clergy experience high rates of mental and physical comorbidities. Regular stress management practices may reduce stress-related symptoms and morbidity, but more research is needed into what practices can be reliably included in busy lifestyles and practiced at a high enough level to meaningfully reduce stress symptoms.
Methods And Analysis:
The overall design is a preference-based randomized waitlist control trial. United Methodist clergy in North Carolina will be eligible to participate. The intervention and waitlist control groups will be recruited by email. The interventions offered are specifically targeted to clergy preference and include mindfulness-based stress reduction, Daily Examen, and stress inoculation training. Surveys will be conducted at 0, 12, and 24 weeks with heart rate data collected at 0 and 12 weeks. The primary outcomes for this study are self-reported symptoms of stress and heart rate at week 12 for each intervention compared to waitlist control; the secondary outcome is symptoms of anxiety comparing each intervention vs waitlist control.
Ethics And Dissemination:
Ethical approval was obtained from the Duke University Campus IRB (2019-0238). The results will be made available to researchers, funders, and members of the clergy community.
Strengths And Limitations Of This Study:
While evidence-based stress reduction practices such as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) exist, a wider variety of practices should be tested to appeal to different individuals. Clergy in particular may prefer, and consequently enact, spiritual practices like the Daily Examen, and individuals such as clergy who spend most of their time thinking and feeling may prefer experiential-based practices like stress inoculation training. If efficacious, the Daily Examen and stress inoculation training practices have high feasibility in that they require few minutes per day. This study is limited by the inclusion of Christian clergy of only one denomination.
Trial Registration:
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04625777 . November 12, 2020.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:30Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques VI
Motivation and Self-Determination
Motivation, the driving force behind behavior, plays a pivotal role at every stage of the change process. The research...
01:26Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques IV
01:25Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques III
The Role of Exercise in Stress Management
Regular physical activity is essential for reducing stress and promoting cardiovascular health. Exercise strengthens the heart, enhances blood flow, keeps blood vessels flexible, and helps lower blood pressure, all of which reduce the body's stress response. Research shows that adults who exercise regularly have nearly half the...
01:26Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques I
Conscientiousness
Conscientious individuals tend to be organized, responsible, and disciplined. They prioritize completing tasks and following structured routines,...
01:20Psychological Responses to Stress
01:23Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques II
Type A Personality: Driven and Easily Stressed
Individuals with Type A personalities are often highly competitive and ambitious and operate with a strong sense of urgency. Commonly labeled as...