Assessment of Clinician Well-Being Using a Biometric-Informed Coaching Platform

The demands of clinical practice have contributed to widespread burnout among health care professionals. Thus, there is an urgent need for scalable and evidence-based interventions to address burnout in this population.

To assess whether participation in an asynchronous, app-based, personalized coaching intervention informed by biometric data is associated with changes in burnout, professional fulfillment, and self-valuation among health care professionals.

This prospective cohort study was conducted at a large health care system (Advocate Health) in the US. Clinicians and other health care professionals from 4 service lines (critical care, women's health, heart and vascular, and emergency medicine) were recruited between June 14 and August 12, 2024. Between August 27 and October 22, 2024, participants completed assessments at baseline and 8 weeks. Those who completed assessments at both baseline and 8 weeks were included in this study. Analysis was completed in November 2024 and April 2025.

An 8-week asynchronous app-based coaching program integrated with a wearable photoplethysmography sensor.

The primary outcome assessed was the change from baseline to week 8 in scores on Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index (PFI) domains (burnout, professional fulfillment, and self-valuation) and on Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) subscales (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment). For each outcome, linear mixed-effects models were used with restricted maximum likelihood.

A total of 367 clinicians and other health care professionals completed baseline assessments. Of these, 192 (52.3%) completed assessments at both baseline and 8 weeks and were included in this study. Their mean (SD) age was 42.5 (10.0) years, and most (135 [70.3%]) were female. The largest participant groups were attending physicians (92 [47.9%]), advanced practice clinicians (47 [24.5%]), and nurses (37 [19.3%]). For the PFI domains, the mean (SD) professional fulfillment score increased from 2.36 (0.68) to 2.56 (0.76) (change, 0.20 [95% CI, 0.12 to 0.28] points; P < .001), the mean (SD) burnout score decreased from 1.60 (0.71) to 1.09 (0.62) (change, -0.51 [95% CI, -0.60 to -0.43] points; P < .001), and the mean (SD) self-valuation score increased from 6.47 (3.00) to 9.02 (2.75) (change, 2.55 [95% CI, 2.12 to 2.98] points; P < .001). For the MBI-HSS subscales, the mean (SD) emotional exhaustion score decreased from 19.74 (8.95) to 15.68 (8.59) (change, -4.06 [95% CI, -5.10 to -3.03] points; P < .001), the mean (SD) depersonalization score decreased from 14.58 (8.50) to 10.32 (7.19) (change, -4.26 [95% CI, -5.26 to -3.27] points; P < .001), and the mean (SD) personal accomplishment score increased from 37.68 (6.85) to 39.19 (6.80) (change, 1.51 [95% CI, 0.75 to 2.28] points; P < .001).

In this cohort study of clinicians and other health care professionals, an asynchronous, biometric-informed coaching platform was associated with meaningful reductions in burnout and improvements in professional fulfillment and self-valuation. These findings suggest that adopting such a platform may be a feasible approach to support health care workers' well-being.