Caring for Providers to Improve Patient Experience Study Phase 2 in Migori County

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The activities described in this proposal are aimed at addressing health care provider stress and unconscious bias to improve quality of maternal health care, particularly related to the person-centered dimensions of care-i.e. care that is respectful and responsive to women's needs, preferences, and values. The investigators focus on health provider stress and unconscious bias because they are key drivers of poor-quality care that are often not addressed in interventions designed to improve quality of maternal health care. The investigators plan to (1) design an intervention that enables providers to identify and manage their stress and unconscious bias; (2) pilot the intervention to assess its feasibility and acceptability; and (3) assess preliminary effect of the intervention on: (a) provider knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to stress and unconscious bias; and (b) provider stress levels.

Detailed Description
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Poor person-centered maternal health care (PCMHC) contributes to high maternal and neonatal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and disparities in PCMHC are driving disparities in use of maternal health services., However, little research exists on how to improve PCMHC and reduce disparities. The investigators seek to fill this gap with this project. They propose targeting health provider stress and unconscious bias as fundamental factors driving both poor PCMHC and disparities in PCMHC. Health care provider stress and unconscious bias are important to consider because: (1) providers in low-resource settings often work under very stressful conditions; (2) unconscious bias is prevalent in every society including SSA; and (3) these factors are mutually reinforcing drivers of poor quality care and disparities in person-centered care. In the first phase of the project (CPIPE1), they conducted research to examine (1) the factors associated with PCMHC and identified provider stress and unconscious bias as key contributing factors. They also examined the levels of provider stress and unconscious bias and the types of stressors and biases in Migori County, Kenya. The results of that research will be used to inform this phase (CPIPE2), the aims of which are to: (1) design a multicomponent theory and evidence-based intervention that enables providers to identify and manage their stress and unconscious bias; (2) pilot the intervention to assess its feasibility and acceptability; and (3) assess preliminary effect of the intervention on: (a) provider knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to stress and unconscious bias; and (b) provider stress levels using a pretest-posttest control group design. They will use the results of the pilot to refine the intervention and develop an R01 proposal for a multi-site evaluation with a larger sample and longer follow up to assess impact on PCMHC. This study will yield valuable information to inform quality improvement efforts for PCMHC.

Official Title
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Addressing Provider Stress and Unconscious Bias to Improve Quality of Maternal Health Care

Conditions
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Mental Health, Maternal Health, Healthcare Provider, Adverse Outcomes, Stress, Stress, Psychological, Stress, Emotional, Quality of Care, Burnout, Discrimination, Social

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Training
* Behavioral: Peer support and mentorship
* Behavioral: Leadership engagement
* Behavioral: Embedded champions


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Providers working in maternity units of the intervention facilities are all eligible. Exclusion Criteria: Inability to attend scheduled training.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Intervention arm<br>Training: The investigators will develop a training for providers that addresses the following topics: Stress & positive coping mechanisms; Unconscious bias awareness and mitigation; Person-centered maternity care; Dealing with difficult situations; and Teamwork and communication; Peer support and mentorship: The investigators will identify what works best for these groups in terms of group composition, size, and how the groups want to interact. Leadership engagement: To ensure leadership buy in, support and sustainability of the intervention, the investigators will engage leadership of the County. Embedded champions: To facilitate ongoing engagement, the investigators will identify local leaders, and invite them to training where they will be taught how to facilitate peer support groups and serve as champions. | Behavioral: Training<br>* trainings to reduce conscious bias and stress<br>Behavioral: Peer support and mentorship<br>* facilitated peer and mentorship opportunities<br>Behavioral: Leadership engagement<br>* Engaged leadership at the county and facility levels<br>Behavioral: Embedded champions<br>* Facilitate local champions to promote intervention<br>|
| No Intervention: Control arm<br>Will not receive any training during the intervention period | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) score from Baseline to 6 Months | The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) score ranges from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress. | Baseline and 6 months | 
| Change in Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure (SMBM) score from Baseline to 6 Months | The Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure range from 1 to 7 with higher scores indicating higher burnout | Baseline and 6 months | 
| Change in stress knowledge and attitudes score from Baseline to 6 Months | The stress knowledge and attitudes score is measured by 14 survey questions with scores ranging from 0 to 14. Higher scores indicate higher knowledge and positive attitudes regarding stress and stress management | Baseline and 6 months | 
| Change in unconscious bias knowledge and attitudes score from Baseline to 6 Months | The unconscious bias knowledge and attitudes score is measured by 17 survey questions with scores ranging from 0 to 17. Higher scores indicate higher knowledge and positive attitudes regarding unconscious bias and unconscious bias mitigation | Baseline and 6 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in hair cortisol levels from Baseline to 6 Months | There are no specified cut-offs for cortisol levels, but, on average, higher cortisol levels indicate higher stress | Baseline and 6 months | 
| Change in Heart Rate Variability (HRV) levels from Baseline to 6 Months | There are no specified cut-offs for HRV but, on average, lower HRV scores indicate higher stress | Baseline and 6 months | 
| Change in socioeconomic status-person centered maternity care implicit association test (IAT) score | IAT scores vary between -2 and +2. For this study, higher positive scores indicates a stronger implicit association between high status with good patient and low status with difficult patient | Baseline and 6 months | 
| Change in explicit bias scores from baseline to 6 months | The explicit bias scores are from responses to a vignette and range from 4 to 28. Higher scores indicate more explicit bias | Baseline and 6 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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providers, mental health, unconscious bias, prejudice, Kenya, stress, burnout, person-centered care, quality of care, discrimination