Burnout in the emergency department: Randomized controlled trial of an attention-based training program

Background: Burnout (encompassing emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment) in healthcare professionals is a major issue worldwide. Emergency medicine physicians are particularly affected, potentially impacting on quality of care and attrition from the specialty. Objective: The aim of this study was to apply an attention-based training (ABT) program to reduce burnout among emergency multidisciplinary team (MDT) members from a large urban hospital. Design, setting, participants and interventions: Emergency MDT members were randomized to either a no-treatment control or an intervention group. Intervention group participants engaged in a four session (4 h/session) ABT program over 7 weeks with a practice target of 20 min twice-daily. Practice adherence was measured using a smart phone application together with a wearable Charge 2 device. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was a change in burnout, comprising emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal achievement. The secondary outcomes were changes in other psychological and biometric parameters. Results: The ABT program resulted in a significant reduction (P < 0.05; T1 [one week before intervention] vs T3 [follow-up at two months after intervention]) in burnout, specifically, emotional exhaustion, with an effect size (probability of superiority) of 59%. Similar reductions were observed for stress (P < 0.05) and anxiety (P < 0.05). Furthermore, ABT group participants demonstrated significant improvements in heart rate variability, resting heart rate, sleep as well as an increase in pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. Conclusion: This study describes a positive impact of ABT on emergency department staff burnout compared to a no-treatment control group. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02887300.