Tackling burnout in Australian doctors by blending a web-based cognitive-behavioural therapy program with telehealth psychological support – protocol for a three-arm randomised-controlled trial
Background: Burnout has received limited attention in treatment programs, despite high prevalence among health professionals and the threat burnout places upon the mental health and the long-term sustainability of the Australian healthcare system. As part of The Essential Network (TEN), a blended ca...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-08-01
|
| Series: | Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451865425000882 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1839622450664439808 |
|---|---|
| author | M.J. Coleshill M.J. Black K. Luck K. Willis N. Smallwood H. Stephens T. Gillings L. Fraser M. Putland L. Kampel A.M. Martin N.F. Praharso A.D. Joffe S. Harvey P.A. Baldwin |
| author_facet | M.J. Coleshill M.J. Black K. Luck K. Willis N. Smallwood H. Stephens T. Gillings L. Fraser M. Putland L. Kampel A.M. Martin N.F. Praharso A.D. Joffe S. Harvey P.A. Baldwin |
| author_sort | M.J. Coleshill |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Burnout has received limited attention in treatment programs, despite high prevalence among health professionals and the threat burnout places upon the mental health and the long-term sustainability of the Australian healthcare system. As part of The Essential Network (TEN), a blended care mental health support service for Australian health professionals, we developed Navigating Burnout – a digital cognitive-behavioural therapy program for health professional burnout. This three-arm randomised-controlled trial (RCT) will examine the effectiveness, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness of Navigating Burnout in both blended care and digital formats in reducing burnout among doctors. Methods: Doctors (n = 207) with burnout will be randomised to (1) a blended version of Navigating Burnout combining digital resources with five fortnightly telehealth sessions with a clinical psychologist, (2) a digital-only version of Navigating Burnout, or (3) self-care psychoeducation as an active attention control. Burnout, psychosocial wellbeing, workforce engagement and attrition, and service acceptability will be measured at baseline, post-treatment, and 3 months post-treatment. Results: At 3 months post-treatment, we hypothesise reductions in burnout across both treatment arms, with the strongest effect in the blended care arm. Similar trends are expected for psychosocial and occupational outcomes. High service acceptability across both blended care and digital-only versions of Navigating Burnout is also anticipated. Conclusions: With this evidence, Navigating Burnout may be incorporated into TEN's person-to-person components. Further, by demonstrating the effectiveness of blended care for burnout, Navigating Burnout may provide a crucially needed service for Australian doctors and replicable model of care for other organisations and support services. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c89fb857a0e74b80a8c7384ebb06b917 |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2451-8654 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-c89fb857a0e74b80a8c7384ebb06b9172025-07-22T04:12:53ZengElsevierContemporary Clinical Trials Communications2451-86542025-08-0146101514Tackling burnout in Australian doctors by blending a web-based cognitive-behavioural therapy program with telehealth psychological support – protocol for a three-arm randomised-controlled trialM.J. Coleshill0M.J. Black1K. Luck2K. Willis3N. Smallwood4H. Stephens5T. Gillings6L. Fraser7M. Putland8L. Kampel9A.M. Martin10N.F. Praharso11A.D. Joffe12S. Harvey13P.A. Baldwin14Black Dog Institute, Sydney, Australia; UNSW Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, AustraliaBlack Dog Institute, Sydney, Australia; School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, AustraliaBlack Dog Institute, Sydney, AustraliaInstitute for Health & Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, AustraliaSchool of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Respiratory & Sleep Medicine, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, AustraliaBlack Dog Institute, Sydney, AustraliaBlack Dog Institute, Sydney, AustraliaBlack Dog Institute, Sydney, AustraliaDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Critical Care, Faculty of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, AustraliaBlack Dog Institute, Sydney, AustraliaBlack Dog Institute, Sydney, AustraliaBlack Dog Institute, Sydney, AustraliaBlack Dog Institute, Sydney, AustraliaBlack Dog Institute, Sydney, Australia; UNSW Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, AustraliaBlack Dog Institute, Sydney, Australia; School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Corresponding author. Black Dog Institute Hospital Road, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia.Background: Burnout has received limited attention in treatment programs, despite high prevalence among health professionals and the threat burnout places upon the mental health and the long-term sustainability of the Australian healthcare system. As part of The Essential Network (TEN), a blended care mental health support service for Australian health professionals, we developed Navigating Burnout – a digital cognitive-behavioural therapy program for health professional burnout. This three-arm randomised-controlled trial (RCT) will examine the effectiveness, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness of Navigating Burnout in both blended care and digital formats in reducing burnout among doctors. Methods: Doctors (n = 207) with burnout will be randomised to (1) a blended version of Navigating Burnout combining digital resources with five fortnightly telehealth sessions with a clinical psychologist, (2) a digital-only version of Navigating Burnout, or (3) self-care psychoeducation as an active attention control. Burnout, psychosocial wellbeing, workforce engagement and attrition, and service acceptability will be measured at baseline, post-treatment, and 3 months post-treatment. Results: At 3 months post-treatment, we hypothesise reductions in burnout across both treatment arms, with the strongest effect in the blended care arm. Similar trends are expected for psychosocial and occupational outcomes. High service acceptability across both blended care and digital-only versions of Navigating Burnout is also anticipated. Conclusions: With this evidence, Navigating Burnout may be incorporated into TEN's person-to-person components. Further, by demonstrating the effectiveness of blended care for burnout, Navigating Burnout may provide a crucially needed service for Australian doctors and replicable model of care for other organisations and support services.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451865425000882Blended careDigitalMental healthBurnoutDoctorsHealth professionals |
| spellingShingle | M.J. Coleshill M.J. Black K. Luck K. Willis N. Smallwood H. Stephens T. Gillings L. Fraser M. Putland L. Kampel A.M. Martin N.F. Praharso A.D. Joffe S. Harvey P.A. Baldwin Tackling burnout in Australian doctors by blending a web-based cognitive-behavioural therapy program with telehealth psychological support – protocol for a three-arm randomised-controlled trial Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications Blended care Digital Mental health Burnout Doctors Health professionals |
| title | Tackling burnout in Australian doctors by blending a web-based cognitive-behavioural therapy program with telehealth psychological support – protocol for a three-arm randomised-controlled trial |
| title_full | Tackling burnout in Australian doctors by blending a web-based cognitive-behavioural therapy program with telehealth psychological support – protocol for a three-arm randomised-controlled trial |
| title_fullStr | Tackling burnout in Australian doctors by blending a web-based cognitive-behavioural therapy program with telehealth psychological support – protocol for a three-arm randomised-controlled trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tackling burnout in Australian doctors by blending a web-based cognitive-behavioural therapy program with telehealth psychological support – protocol for a three-arm randomised-controlled trial |
| title_short | Tackling burnout in Australian doctors by blending a web-based cognitive-behavioural therapy program with telehealth psychological support – protocol for a three-arm randomised-controlled trial |
| title_sort | tackling burnout in australian doctors by blending a web based cognitive behavioural therapy program with telehealth psychological support protocol for a three arm randomised controlled trial |
| topic | Blended care Digital Mental health Burnout Doctors Health professionals |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451865425000882 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mjcoleshill tacklingburnoutinaustraliandoctorsbyblendingawebbasedcognitivebehaviouraltherapyprogramwithtelehealthpsychologicalsupportprotocolforathreearmrandomisedcontrolledtrial AT mjblack tacklingburnoutinaustraliandoctorsbyblendingawebbasedcognitivebehaviouraltherapyprogramwithtelehealthpsychologicalsupportprotocolforathreearmrandomisedcontrolledtrial AT kluck tacklingburnoutinaustraliandoctorsbyblendingawebbasedcognitivebehaviouraltherapyprogramwithtelehealthpsychologicalsupportprotocolforathreearmrandomisedcontrolledtrial AT kwillis tacklingburnoutinaustraliandoctorsbyblendingawebbasedcognitivebehaviouraltherapyprogramwithtelehealthpsychologicalsupportprotocolforathreearmrandomisedcontrolledtrial AT nsmallwood tacklingburnoutinaustraliandoctorsbyblendingawebbasedcognitivebehaviouraltherapyprogramwithtelehealthpsychologicalsupportprotocolforathreearmrandomisedcontrolledtrial AT hstephens tacklingburnoutinaustraliandoctorsbyblendingawebbasedcognitivebehaviouraltherapyprogramwithtelehealthpsychologicalsupportprotocolforathreearmrandomisedcontrolledtrial AT tgillings tacklingburnoutinaustraliandoctorsbyblendingawebbasedcognitivebehaviouraltherapyprogramwithtelehealthpsychologicalsupportprotocolforathreearmrandomisedcontrolledtrial AT lfraser tacklingburnoutinaustraliandoctorsbyblendingawebbasedcognitivebehaviouraltherapyprogramwithtelehealthpsychologicalsupportprotocolforathreearmrandomisedcontrolledtrial AT mputland tacklingburnoutinaustraliandoctorsbyblendingawebbasedcognitivebehaviouraltherapyprogramwithtelehealthpsychologicalsupportprotocolforathreearmrandomisedcontrolledtrial AT lkampel tacklingburnoutinaustraliandoctorsbyblendingawebbasedcognitivebehaviouraltherapyprogramwithtelehealthpsychologicalsupportprotocolforathreearmrandomisedcontrolledtrial AT ammartin tacklingburnoutinaustraliandoctorsbyblendingawebbasedcognitivebehaviouraltherapyprogramwithtelehealthpsychologicalsupportprotocolforathreearmrandomisedcontrolledtrial AT nfpraharso tacklingburnoutinaustraliandoctorsbyblendingawebbasedcognitivebehaviouraltherapyprogramwithtelehealthpsychologicalsupportprotocolforathreearmrandomisedcontrolledtrial AT adjoffe tacklingburnoutinaustraliandoctorsbyblendingawebbasedcognitivebehaviouraltherapyprogramwithtelehealthpsychologicalsupportprotocolforathreearmrandomisedcontrolledtrial AT sharvey tacklingburnoutinaustraliandoctorsbyblendingawebbasedcognitivebehaviouraltherapyprogramwithtelehealthpsychologicalsupportprotocolforathreearmrandomisedcontrolledtrial AT pabaldwin tacklingburnoutinaustraliandoctorsbyblendingawebbasedcognitivebehaviouraltherapyprogramwithtelehealthpsychologicalsupportprotocolforathreearmrandomisedcontrolledtrial |