Use of Death Cafes to Prevent Burnout in ICU Healthcare Employees

NCT ID: NCT04347811

Last Updated: 2023-02-06

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

340 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2020-07-20

Study Completion Date

2022-12-26

Brief Summary

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Burnout affects a significant number of healthcare employees and leads to worsened mental health, increased job turnover, and patient safety events. Those caring for critically ill patients may be especially susceptible due to high patient mortality, long hours, and regular encounters with traumatic and ethical issues. Preliminary studies suggest that debriefing opportunities may reduce burnout through reflection on distressing patient events, enhancement of social support, and interprofessional collaboration. Death Cafés are a specific form of debriefing that focus on discussing death, dying, loss, and illness.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether biweekly Death Cafe group debriefing sessions can prevent burnout in ICU physicians and staff.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Burnout Burnout, Professional Burnout, Psychological Anxiety Depression

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Death Cafe Arm

Participants undergo biweekly Death Café sessions hosted by a trained psychotherapist for 3 months.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Death Cafe

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Death Cafés are a specific form of debriefing that focuses on discussing death, dying, loss, and illness. Nourishment in the form of cake is provided. These sessions may allow for reflection on distressing patient events while developing a sense of community and collaboration among hospital employees.

Control Arm

Participants do not undergo biweekly Death Café sessions hosted by a trained psychotherapist for 3 months.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Death Cafe

Death Cafés are a specific form of debriefing that focuses on discussing death, dying, loss, and illness. Nourishment in the form of cake is provided. These sessions may allow for reflection on distressing patient events while developing a sense of community and collaboration among hospital employees.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, or therapists working in the Intensive Care Unit and have worked for the full-time equivalent of at least 1 week in the preceding 4 weeks

Exclusion Criteria

* Not physicians, nurses, pharmacists, or therapists
* Have worked less than the full-time equivalent of at least 1 week in the preceding 4 weeks
Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Spirit of Charity Foundation - University Medical Center

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

Tulane University School of Medicine

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Marjorie E Bateman, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Tulane University School of Medicine

Joshua Denson, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Tulane University School of Medicine

Locations

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Tulane Medical Center

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Site Status

University Medical Center

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Site Status

Children's Hospital New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Site Status

Ochsner Medical Center

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Bateman ME, Chung CH, Mascarenhas E, Hammer R, Ravindran N, Panjshiri F, Mehta P, Byrne A, Lasky S, Denson R, Brown M, Halton B, Chiurco J, Ferrell S, Ruiz B, Wentowski C, Shukla I, Bauer H, Sarma A, Bhyravabhotla K, Zu Y, Peacock E, Lefante J, Epere J, Denson JL. STOPTHEBURN: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Death Cafes for Burnout Prevention in Intensive Care Unit Employees. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2024 Nov;21(11):1572-1582. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202312-1024OC.

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Bateman ME, Hammer R, Byrne A, Ravindran N, Chiurco J, Lasky S, Denson R, Brown M, Myers L, Zu Y, Denson JL. Death Cafes for prevention of burnout in intensive care unit employees: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (STOPTHEBURN). Trials. 2020 Dec 11;21(1):1019. doi: 10.1186/s13063-020-04929-4.

Reference Type DERIVED
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Other Identifiers

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2019-908

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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