Resilience and Stress Among Health Care Workers Participating in the StressPal Frontline Program: Quasi-Experimental
Debora Goetz Goldberg1,2, James Monroe3, Pennie Sempell3
1Department of Health Administration, Policy, and Informatics, College of Public Health, George Mason University, Peterson Health Sciences Hall, 4400 University Drive MS IJ3, Fairfax, VA, 22030-4422, United States, 1 2024958441.
JMIR Formative Research
|July 8, 2026
Summary
The StressPal Frontline program significantly reduced perceived stress in health care workers. This digital resilience intervention showed positive outcomes across diverse participant characteristics, supporting its implementation for staff well-being.
Area of Science:
- Health Psychology
- Occupational Health
- Digital Health Interventions
Background:
- Healthcare workers face high distress and burnout, impacting job satisfaction and retention.
- Burnout contributes to turnover intentions, presenteeism, and staffing shortages in healthcare.
- Resilience and self-care programs are crucial for supporting healthcare professionals' well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the StressPal Frontline program's impact on healthcare workers' stress and resilience.
- To identify specific stress and resilience measures affected by the program.
- To explore variations in program outcomes based on participant characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with 76 healthcare workers.
- Utilized the Perceived Stress Scale and Brief Resilience Scale.
- Statistical analyses included t-tests and regression analysis, with Cohen's d for effect size.
Main Results:
- A statistically significant reduction in perceived stress (P=.004) with a small-to-medium effect size (Cohen d=0.34).
- No significant change in overall resilience scale scores (P=.07), but item-level analysis showed improved ability to bounce back.
- No significant outcome differences based on age, race, ethnicity, professional role, or practice setting.
Conclusions:
- The StressPal Frontline program effectively reduces perceived stress among healthcare workers.
- The program's benefits are consistent across diverse demographic and professional groups.
- Healthcare organizations can implement StressPal Frontline to support staff development and well-being.
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