Improving Supervisor Confidence in Responding to Distressed Health Care Employees

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Occupational Health
• Psychology

Background:

• Professional distress and burnout are prevalent among healthcare workers.
• Supervisors often lack adequate tools and guidance to support distressed employees.
• A healthcare system identified a need for improved supervisor training in mental health support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a supervisor training video on confidence in responding to distressed employees.
• To identify factors contributing to low supervisor confidence in mental health support.
• To improve the mental well-being of healthcare employees through enhanced supervisor training.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) methodology.
• Conducted stakeholder interviews and administered pre- and post-intervention email surveys to supervisors.
• Developed and disseminated a six-minute, on-demand training video on responding to employee mental health crises.

Main Results:

• The proportion of supervisors reporting "not at all confident" decreased significantly from 7.1% to 0.8%.
• Confidence levels in responding to distressed employees significantly increased post-training (p=0.03).
• No supervisors who viewed the video (without pre-survey participation) reported being "not at all confident."

Conclusions:

• On-demand supervisor training videos are effective in enhancing confidence to support distressed employees.
• Improved supervisor confidence may indirectly contribute to better employee mental health outcomes.
• Simple, accessible training interventions can positively impact workplace mental health support.