Randomized Controlled Trial of Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Fibromyalgia

In this study, 67 participants (95% female) with fibromyalgia (FM) were randomly assigned to an online acceptance and commitment therapy (online ACT)?and?treatment as usual (TAU; ACT + TAU) protocol or a TAU control condition. Online ACT?+?TAU participants were asked to complete 7 modules over an 8-week period. Assessments were completed at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up periods and included measures of FM impact (primary outcome), depression, pain, sleep, 6-minute walk, sit to stand, pain acceptance (primary process variable), mindfulness, cognitive fusion, valued living, kinesiophobia, and pain catastrophizing. The results indicated that online ACT?+?TAU participants significantly improved in FM impact, relative to TAU (P?<.001), with large between condition effect sizes at post-treatment (1.26) and follow-up (1.59). Increases in pain acceptance significantly mediated these improvements (P?=?.005). Significant improvements in favor of online ACT?+?TAU were also found on measures of depression (P?=?.02), pain (P?=?.01), and kinesiophobia (P?=?.001). Although preliminary, this study highlights the potential for online ACT to be an efficacious, accessible, and cost-effective treatment for people with FM and other chronic pain conditions.

Feasibility of mobile mental wellness training for older adults

Mobile technology has been increasingly adopted in promotion of mental health among older people. This study assessed the feasibility of a mobile mental wellness training application for individual use and for group work from the perspectives of older adults and social care professionals. The older individuals recruited for the study were participants in a Circle of Friends group and family caregivers' peer support group offered by the communal senior services. The qualitative and quantitative results of interviews, questionnaires, observation, and application usage were reported. Seven older adults started using the application independently at home in parallel with the group activity. This study revealed new information regarding the barriers to the older adults' full adoption of such mobile technologies. The results indicated that there may be potential in the incorporation of mobile technologies in promotion of mental health of older people at group settings.     

Burnout Evaluation and Potential Predictors in a Greek Cohort of Mental Health Nurses

Background

Job burnout is one of the most serious occupational health hazards, especially, among mental health nurses. It has been attributed among others to staff shortages, health service changes, poor morale and insufficient employee participation in decision-making.

“Whenever I can I push myself to go to work”: a qualitative study of experiences of sickness presenteeism among workers with rheumatoid arthritis

Purpose: UK government policy emphasizes the importance of continuing to work for recovery from poor health, yet sickness presenteeism (going to work whilst ill) is commonly regarded as having negative consequences for organizations and individuals. Our study explores experiences of working after onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic musculoskeletal disorder characterized by high rates of work disability.

Materials and methods: An exploratory qualitative study consisting of in-depth interviews and six-month follow-up with 11 men and women with RA employed at disease onset.

Results: We expand upon previous models of sickness presenteeism by distinguishing between presenteeism that occurs voluntarily (wanting to work despite illness) and involuntarily (feeling pressured to work when ill). RA onset affected participants’ ability to work, yet motivation to remain working remained high. The implementation of workplace adjustments enabled participants to stay working and restore their work capacity. Conversely, managers’ misinterpretation of organizational sickness absence policies could lead to involuntary presenteeism or delayed return to work, conflicting with the notion of work as an aid to recovery.

Conclusion: Workplace adjustments can facilitate voluntary sickness presenteeism. To reduce work disability and sickness absence, organizational policies should be sufficiently flexible to accommodate the needs of workers with fluctuating conditions.

• Implications for rehabilitation

• Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at high risk of work disability.

• Individuals’ motivation to remain in work following onset of RA remains high, yet sickness presenteeism (working while ill) has received largely negative attention.

• It is important to distinguish between voluntary and involuntary forms of sickness presenteeism.

• Workplace adjustments facilitate voluntary sickness presenteeism (wanting to work despite illness) and improve job retention and productivity among workers with RA.

• Involuntary presenteeism (feeling pressured to work while ill) may occur if organizational policies are not sufficiently flexible to accommodate the needs of workers with RA.

     

A network analysis of two conceptual approaches to the etiology of PTSD

Two prominent conceptual models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are the cognitive model, associated with cognitive processing therapy (CPT; Resick & Schnicke, 1992), and the functional contextualist model, underlying acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT; Hayes et al., 1999). Network analysis was used to examine dynamic interactions among cognitive (relating to CPT) and functional contextualistic (relating to ACT) variables and PTSD symptoms in a sample of 722 trauma-exposed adults. Results from the cognitive networks highlighted the importance of maladaptive beliefs about threat in maintaining the co-occurrence of PTSD symptoms and cognitive variables. Additionally, PTSD symptoms were more likely to lead to cognitive variables, rather than the reverse direction. Results from the functional contextualist networks identified numerous associations amongst variables that contribute to the co-occurrence of PTSD symptoms and psychological inflexibility. Findings from this study may help generate causal hypotheses that can be tested further using a longitudinal study design.     

Effect of Perceived Organizational Support on Fatigue of Chinese Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Resilience as a Mediator

As working for the nurse is believed to be one of the most stressful professions, nurses are particularly at risk of experiencing fatigue. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, fatigue among nurses may affect physical and mental health seriously, which is attracting increasing attention of researchers and clinical practitioners to find effective prevention measures to alleviate nurses’ fatigue. This study aims to investigate the mediational effect of resilience on the relationship between nurses’ perceived organizational support and fatigue. A total of 476 nurses from secondary and above hospitals in Hebei province, China during March and April in 2020, were investigated with Perceived Organizational Support Scale, Resilience Scale and Work Fatigue Inventory. Structural equation modeling was conducted to explore the mechanisms of nurses’ perceived organizational support on fatigue. Results revealed that perceived organizational support can decrease the nurses’ mental/physical/emotional fatigue through the mediating role of resilience. These findings guide for hospital managers to identify effective prevention strategies to alleviate the fatigue of clinical nurses.     

精神科医护人员工作满意度和组织承诺的关系

目的了解精神科医护人员工作满意度和组织承诺现状及关系。方法使用工作满意度量表(MSQ)和组织承诺量表(OCQ)对150名山东省安康医院医护人员进行测查。结果①精神科医护人员工作满意度偏低,组织承诺中等偏上;②不同职业精神科医护人员的内在满意度有显著性差异(t=2.12,P<0.05),不同职称精神科医护人员总体满意度、内在满意度和外在满意度有显著性差异(F=6.03,7.11,P<0.01;F=2.97,P<0.05),不同婚姻状况医护人员工作满意度无显著性差异;③不同职业精神科医护人员规范承诺和总体承诺有显著性差异(t=-2.22,-2.09;P<0.05),不同职称精神科医护人员总体承诺有显著性差异(F=3.03,P<0.05),不同婚姻状况医护人员持续承诺有显著性差异(t=-2.24,P<0.05);④相关分析表明,工作满意度与组织承诺显著相关。结论精神科医护人员的工作满意度处于较低水平;工作满意度和组织承诺受职业类型、职称高低、婚姻状况因素的影响;工作满意度与组织承诺密切相关。     

A team fares well with a fair coach: Predictors of social loafing in interactive female sport teams

The present research aimed to develop and test a theoretical model that links players' perceived justice of the coach to a more optimal motivational climate, which in turn increases players' team identification and cohesion, and results in lower levels of social loafing in female sport teams. Belgian elite female basketball, volleyball, and football players (study 1; N = 259; M_age = 22.6) and Norwegian world‐class female handball players (study 2; N = 110; M_age = 22.8) completed questionnaires assessing players' perceived justice (distributive and procedural), motivational climate, team identification, team cohesion (task and social), and social loafing (perceived and self‐reported). In both studies, confirmatory and exploratory path analyses indicated that perceived justice was positively related to a mastery climate (P < 0.05) and negatively to a performance climate (P < 0.05). In turn, a mastery climate was linked to increased levels of team identification (P < 0.05) and task cohesion (P < 0.05). Consequently, players' perceived and self‐reported social loafing decreased (P < 0.05). The findings of both independent studies demonstrated the impact of coaches' fairness, and consequently, the motivational climate created by the coach on the optimal functioning of female sport teams.