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.

     

护士职业承诺与职业倦怠的现状及相关性

目的探讨护士职业承诺与职业倦怠的现状及两者的相关性。方法采用职业承诺问卷和职业倦怠调查普适量表(MBI-GS)对南充市4所医院的695名护士进行问卷调查,比较不同人口学资料的护士职业承诺和职业倦怠水平,并采用Pearson相关分析法探讨两者的相关性。结果护士职业承诺问卷与MBI-GS总评分分别为(78.38±12.33)分和(37.05±9.61)分;不同医院、科室、工作年限、性别的护士职业承诺总评分差异均有统计学意义(P0.05或0.01);不同医院、科室、年龄、职称、工作年限、受教育程度、婚姻状况的护士MBI-GS总评分差异均有统计学意义(P0.05或0.01);相关分析显示,MBI-GS总评分及各维度评分与职业承诺总评分、情感承诺、规范承诺、经济成本承诺维度评分均呈负相关(r=-0.517～-0.075,P0.05或0.01),职业承诺问卷中,情感代价承诺维度评分与MBI-GS总评分、职业效能及去个性化维度评分均呈负相关(r=-0.172～-0.098,P均0.01),机会承诺维度评分与MBI-GS职业效能维度评分呈正相关(r=0.106,P0.01),与情绪耗竭和去个性化维度评分均呈负相关(r=-0.156、-0.123,P均0.01)。结论所在医院、科室、工作年限是影响护士职业承诺与职业倦怠水平的共同因素;而女性的职业承诺水平高于男性,未婚者的职业倦怠水平高于已婚者。护士职业倦怠程度与职业承诺水平呈负相关。     

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.