Exploring the Impact of a Targeted Positive Psychological Intervention on Healthcare Workers' Subjective Happiness
Nancy Dunn1, Sara Nash, Paul Howard
1Author Affiliations: Clinical Excellence Coordinator (Dunn); Infection Preventionist (Nash), Infection Prevention; Librarian (Dr Howard), Community Health Education Center; Clinical Improvement Specialist (Whitney Lora), Peer Review and Clinical Data Support; Assistant Nurse Manager (Ryan-Anzur), Medical Surgical Oncology Unit; and Nurse Scientist Consultant (Dr Halm), Salem Health; and Research Statistician (Gau), Gau Consulting, Eugene, Oregon.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to generate new knowledge to improve healthcare worker (HCW) happiness.
Background:
Already trending upward, HCW burnout spiked during the pandemic reaching rates of 49% to 69%.
Methods:
This unblinded randomized controlled trial studied a positive psychological intervention's (PPI) impact on subjective happiness among 183 HCWs in a 644-bed community healthcare organization. The intervention had 2 phases: 1) reading The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor; and 2) participating in a 21-day challenge to adopt evidence-based happiness-boosting practices.
Results:
A statistically significant increase in subjective happiness was found in the intervention group compared with the control group over the 6-month follow-up period. Within the intervention group, subjective happiness was sustained by 70% at the 18-month follow-up.
Conclusions:
Offering the PPI may increase HCWs' subjective happiness. The study design should be strengthened and replicated.
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