A risk communication intervention aimed at enhancing help-seeking behavior and reducing stress symptoms in healthcare...

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at risk for work-related stress, but interventions to support early help-seeking are often limited. This study aims to evaluate a risk communication intervention designed to promote help-seeking behavior and reduce stress symptoms. The risk communication intervention provides personal feedback on stress symptoms, risk factors and focuses on creating awareness of the potential disconnect between values assigned to healthy working and the effort devoted to it, based on the Disconnected Values Model.

The study employed a pre-post, single-arm design. Recruitment, reach, dose delivered and received were assessed with data of the digital intervention, and participant satisfaction with questionnaires. Help-seeking behavior was measured with two items: one assessing whether action had been taken or was intended and one identifying specific actions taken. Stress symptoms were assessed using the distress screener subscale of the four-dimensional symptom questionnaire on a five-point Likert scale. Higher scores on this screener indicate more stress symptoms. The intention to seek help was evaluated six weeks after the intervention with descriptive statistics and stress symptoms pre- and post-intervention with a paired t-test.

Two out of three organizations were recruited, encompassing 660 HCWs. The intervention's reach was 12% (HCWs starting the intervention), dose delivered 100% (all components of the intervention were delivered) and dose received was 6% (number HCWs completing the intervention). Participant satisfaction averaged 6 (range 1-10). All HCWs who recognized a discrepancy between their values and behavior, and did not accept it, were prepared to take action. No changes were observed in stress symptoms, with mean scores of 2.0 (SD = 1.1) pre-intervention and 2.17 (SD = 0.77) post-intervention (p = 0.50) or help-seeking behavior.

The risk communication intervention contributes to the intention to change behavior, HCWs who recognized a discrepancy between their values and behavior and did not accept it were prepared to take action. Intention to change behavior is the first step towards actual behavior change, making the intervention promising. While the intervention is promising and warrants further testing to prevent work-related stress in HCWs, intervention and implementation challenges likely contributed to the lack of reduction in stress symptoms and improvement in help-seeking behavior.