Clinical trial NCT05149911: Effect of a Life Coaching Intervention on the Well-being and Distress of Physicians
Official title: Effect of a Life Coaching Intervention on the Well-being and Distress of Physicians: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Distress, Emotional
Burnout
Lead sponsor: Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society
name: University of Ottawa
First posted: 2021-12-08
Enrollment: 180
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: There is a widespread epidemic of distress and burnout (i.e., extreme distress) among Canadian physicians. Burnout is costly to physicians, patients, and healthcare organizations as it compromises physicians' own health and reduces their capacity to deliver high quality, safe care to patients. Life coaching delivered by certified coaches is a personal development tool. Life coaching has been proven to help individuals maximize their strengths and skills to handle stressors, regain control over their lives, act according to their core values, and achieve their full potential, consequently reducing their vulnerability to burnout. The investigators will evaluate life coaching for physicians' well-being in the current Canadian context. Physicians from centres in Canada will be randomly assigned to life coaching (intervention) or no coaching (control) group. The coaching group will receive a 1-hour initial coaching session followed by five 30-minute coaching sessions occurring at a frequency of every 2 to 3 weeks within 5 months (total of 3.5 coaching hours). All coaching sessions will be delivered virtually by certified life coaches. The investigators will assess the impact of coaching on physician distress and quality of life before and after the intervention.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Registered staff physician, resident, or fellow
* Currently practicing in Canada
* (For the 'Francophone minority patients' group only) Sometimes conducts thorough consultations completely in French for French-speaking patients outside Quebec

Exclusion Criteria:

* Previously received life coaching in the last 5 years
* Currently receiving psychotherapy

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change in Quality of Life score at 5 months
timeFrame: 5 months
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Change in Burnout score at 5 months
timeFrame: 5 months
measure: Change in Resilience score at 5 months
timeFrame: 5 months
measure: Change in Job Satisfaction score at 5 months
timeFrame: 5 months
measure: Change in Job Engagement score at 5 months
timeFrame: 5 months
measure: Change in Job Empowerment and Meaning score at 5 months
timeFrame: Baseline and 5 months
measure: Absence from work due to mental or physical illness
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Absence from work due to mental or physical illness
timeFrame: 5 months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Ottawa
country: Canada
facility: The Ottawa Hospital
state: Ontario
Study officials:
affiliation: The Ottawa Hospital
name: Sylvain Boet, MD, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: