Burnout Syndrome in the Intensive Care Unit Before and During a Palliative Care Trial
ConditionBurnout Syndrome
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot listed
Trial typeObservational
Biological sexAll
AgeNot listed
SponsorUniversity of Athens
About this trial
One hundred ICU doctors, nurses and psychologists from the 28 units participating in the EPIC stepped-wedge trial (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06605079) will each complete the same four-part survey twice-once during their unit's usual-care phase and again during the EPIC tele-palliative-care intervention. The questionnaire begins with Part A, gathering demographic and professional details such as age, gender, family status, education, role, years of ICU service, shift patterns, leave days and any prior palliative-care or ethics training. Part B then probes 22 workplace stressors and ethical dilemmas-resource constraints, family pressures, moral conflicts, emotional distancing from colleagues, perceived control over decisions and work-life balance-using a five-point frequency scale. Part C merges a 19-item Maslach Burnout Inventory subset (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment) on a seven-point frequency scale with a 16-item Oldenburg Burnout Inventory subset (exhaustion, disengagement) on a four-point agreement scale. Finally, Part D employs Neff's 16-item Self-Compassion Scale-rated from almost never to almost always-to assess self-kindness, common humanity, mindfulness, self-judgment, isolation and over-identification. Within-subject, repeated-measures analyses of total and subscale scores will quantify how EPIC's blended-learning curriculum and standardized teleconsultations shift clinician burnout profiles and self-compassion over time.
Eligibility criteria
This trial does not accept healthy volunteersQualifiers
ICU clinicians (nurses, physicians, advanced practice providers) actively caring for critically ill patients
Employed in participating ICUs for ≥3 months prior to study start
Willing to complete both pre- and during-intervention surveys
Consent to participate in educational tele-palliative care trial
Disqualifiers
Locum tenens or temporary staff not continuously assigned to the unit
Clinicians on leave (medical, parental, or extended leave) during either survey period
Prior enrollment in similar palliative care training within past 6 months
Trial population
The study will enroll \~100 multidisciplinary ICU clinicians-staff physicians, registered nurses and advanced practice providers-who have been continuously assigned to participating adult intensive care units for at least three months prior to study start. All participants will complete Greek-language pre- and during-intervention psychometric surveys and engage in the tele-palliative care educational intervention. Temporary or locum staff not continuously on the unit and those on leave during either survey period are excluded.
Trial design
Design model
Other
Time perspective
Other
Treatments tested in this trial
Not listed
Trial groups
100 Participants
are grouped into 1 trial groupGroup A: ICU healthcare professionals
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Change in clinician burnout by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)
Within-subject average percent change in clinician burnout, defined as the average of percent changes in the Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment subscores between the usual care phase and the palliative care intervention phase. Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment subscores range within 0-54, 0-30 and 0-48, respectively. Higher subscores of the first two subcomponents and lower subscore of the third subcomponent indicate worse burnout.
Time frame
3 years2
Change in clinician burnout by the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI)
Within-subject average percent change in clinician burnout, defined as the average of percent changes in the Exhaustion and Disengagement subscores between the usual care phase and the palliative care intervention phase. Exhaustion and Disengagement subscores range within 0-32 and 0-32, respectively. Higher subscores of both subcomponents indicate worse burnout.
Time frame
3 yearsSecondary outcomes
1
ICU stressors and moral dilemmas frequency
Percent change in total frequency score and in key clusters (resource constraints, family pressures, moral conflict, emotional distancing, control, work-life balance, professional development)
Time frame
3 years2
Maslach Burnout Inventory subscale scores
Percent change in Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment subscores between the usual care phase and the palliative care intervention phase.. Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment subscores range within 0-54, 0-30 and 0-48, respectively. Higher subscores of the first two subcomponents and lower subscore of the third subcomponent indicate worse burnout.
Time frame
3 years3
Oldenburg Burnout Inventory subscale scores
Percent change in Exhaustion and Disengagement subscores between the usual care phase and the palliative care intervention phase. Exhaustion and Disengagement subscores subscores range within 0-32 and 0-32, respectively. Higher subscores of both subcomponents indicate worse burnout.
Time frame
3 years4
Self-Compassion Score -Short Form
Percent change in the short form version of Neff's self-compassion score. The self compassion score ranges within 0-5, with higher values indicating higher self compassion.
Time frame
3 yearsSponsors and contacts
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Source ClinicalTrials.gov