Building Community Resilience Program for Stress

(BCR Trial)

Overseen By Nita Vangeepuram, MD, MPH

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Disqualifiers: Incapacity, No consent, No access, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 12

72 Participants Needed

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial tests a program designed to help community and frontline workers manage stress and build resilience. The goal is to evaluate how effectively the Building Community Resilience Program improves participants' stress levels, resilience, and overall well-being. Participants will either begin the program immediately or after a year, with progress monitored through surveys. This trial suits English-speaking community health workers in NYC who can join Zoom calls and are involved with NYCEAL's partner organizations. As an unphased trial, it offers participants the chance to contribute to valuable research that could enhance strategies for stress management and resilience-building.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. It seems focused on educational workshops and stress resilience, so it's unlikely that medication changes are required.

What prior data suggests that the Building Community Resilience Program is safe for community healthcare workers and/or frontline workers?

Research shows no specific safety information for the Building Community Resilience Program for Stress. However, similar programs are usually well-tolerated, with participants generally not experiencing harmful effects. These programs often improve mental health and reduce stress, offering benefits.

Since this program involves workshops and surveys rather than drugs or medical procedures, it is generally considered safe for most people. The goal is to teach skills for better stress management. Unlike medications, this type of educational program typically lacks side effects.

Overall, while direct safety data for this specific program is absent, similar programs are generally safe and aim to support mental well-being. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about the Building Community Resilience Program because it offers a fresh approach to managing stress by focusing on community support rather than traditional individual therapies like medication or one-on-one counseling. Unlike standard treatments, this program emphasizes building connections and resilience within a community, which could lead to more sustainable and widespread benefits. By engaging participants in a series of workshops and activities, it aims to foster a supportive environment that might help reduce stress more effectively than isolated interventions.

What evidence suggests that the Building Community Resilience Program is effective for reducing stress?

Research has shown that community programs focused on building resilience can improve mental health. In Ayacucho, Peru, a study found that these programs helped participants feel less stressed and better equipped to handle challenges. Another study demonstrated that learning stress management improved people's ability to recover from difficult situations. The Building Community Resilience Program, which participants in this trial will experience, aims to help people deal with trauma and strengthen community support, a method proven to enhance overall well-being. These findings suggest that the program can reduce stress and build resilience among community healthcare and frontline workers. ^{2 6 7 8 9}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Carol Horowitz, MD, MPH

Principal Investigator

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for community healthcare workers and frontline workers experiencing stress or burnout. Participants will be involved in educational workshops aimed at improving resilience and wellbeing.

Inclusion Criteria

Able to fill out the screening RedCap short survey

Have access to a computer or smart gadget that will allow participant to be able to join the zoom call

Working with an NYCEAL CBO participating in BCR programming

Exclusion Criteria

I cannot understand or participate in conversations well.

Not working with an NYCEAL CBO participating in BCR programming

I am under 18 years old.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

1 month

Intervention (First Cohort)

The first cohort receives six virtual, hour-long, evidence-based interactive workshops over a six-month period.

6 months

6 virtual workshops

Intervention (Second Cohort)

The second cohort, initially a waitlist control group, receives the same six virtual workshops in the second year.

6 months

6 virtual workshops

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in outcomes such as burnout, resilience, stress, and wellbeing after the intervention.

6 months

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Building Community Resilience Program

Trial Overview

The Building Community Resilience Program (BCR) is being tested to see if it can help reduce stress and increase psychological resilience among participants. The program's impact will be measured using surveys before and after the intervention.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Waitlist Group (Second Cohort) Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

The second cohort of up to 36 participants will complete four surveys: two surveys in year 1 (matching the timing of the first cohort's surveys to serve as a control group), and two additional surveys in year 2 when they receive the intervention (a baseline survey within one month before their workshops begin, and a post-test survey within one month after their final workshop).

Group II: Immediate Intervention Group (First Cohort) Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

The first cohort of up to 36 participants will complete two surveys: a baseline survey within one month before the workshops begin, and a post-test survey within one month after the final workshop (approximately 8 months total from first to last survey)

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Lead Sponsor

Trials

933

Recruited

579,000+

Published Research Related to This Trial

The 'Buddy Study' program, which includes a seminar and peer support for healthcare professionals after adverse events, received positive feedback from participants, with 91.6% satisfied with the seminar content and 69.1% feeling it helped them manage their emotional responses.

The program fostered a compassionate culture and attentiveness to colleagues' wellbeing, although it highlighted the need for ongoing support and visibility to maintain its effectiveness, suggesting that while valuable, peer support should complement other forms of support rather than replace them.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Evaluation of'the Buddy Study', a peer support program for second victims in healthcare: a survey in two Danish hospital departments. Schrøder, K., Bovil, T., Jørgensen, JS., et al.[2022]

The resilience of families and communities is crucial for their healthy functioning, and it can be significantly impacted by stressors like socioeconomic changes and disasters, leading to various physical and mental health issues.

The LINC Model is proposed as an effective framework to enhance connectedness among individuals, families, and communities, which can help mitigate the effects of stress and trauma by mobilizing support systems and strengthening cultural ties.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Communities that care for families: the LINC Model for enhancing individual, family, and community resilience. Landau, J.[2019]

In a study involving 196 patients who previously struggled with self-management, participation in a community support program led to an 80% reduction in hospitalizations and related events, indicating significant improvements in patient stabilization.

Patients also reported higher satisfaction with their lives and the support program, highlighting the program's effectiveness in enhancing overall well-being and reducing the need for intensive medical interventions.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Defining and measuring stabilization of patients during 4 years of intensive community support. Wright, RG., Heiman, JR., Shupe, J., et al.[2019]

A systematic review of 1880 records identified only 8 studies focused on community-based interventions that enhance resilience in adults after disasters, indicating a significant gap in research in this area.

The findings suggest that while information provision alone may not be effective, strategies that promote social interactions and community competence show promise in improving health outcomes after disasters.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Resilience-rhetoric to reality: a systematic review of intervention studies after disasters. van Kessel, G., MacDougall, C., Gibbs, L.[2018]

Communities can effectively adapt and thrive after disasters by leveraging a network of adaptive capacities, which include Economic Development, Social Capital, Information and Communication, and Community Competence.

To enhance community resilience, it is crucial to reduce resource inequities, engage local populations in disaster preparedness, and foster strong social supports, while also being flexible and ready to make decisions in uncertain situations.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Community resilience as a metaphor, theory, set of capacities, and strategy for disaster readiness. Norris, FH., Stevens, SP., Pfefferbaum, B., et al.[2022]

In a study of 838 health professionals in Colombia from 2017 to 2021, 33.8% reported experiencing adverse events, with 21.91% showing medium-high emotional overload and 3.53% experiencing extreme acute stress.

The risk of developing acute stress after an adverse event was found to be significant, with a prevalence ratio of 1.30, indicating that health institutions need to address this issue to improve care capacity and support their staff.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Acute Stress in Health Workers in Colombia 2017-2021: A Cross-Sectional Study. Gonzalez Delgado, M., Cortes Gil, JD., Rodriguez Araujo, DL., et al.[2023]

A study of 1,515 adults in terror-stricken border communities in northern Israel found that community resilience (CR) is better predicted by proximal factors, like trust in community emergency teams, rather than just demographic or psychological characteristics.

The results highlight the significance of people's immediate responses to adversity in fostering community resilience, suggesting that enhancing trust and support systems can be crucial during stressful situations.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Proximal and distal determinants of community resilience under threats of terror. Eshel, Y., Kimhi, S., Marciano, H.[2020]

Adverse events (AEs) in healthcare are common, occurring in about 10% of cases, and can have significant emotional impacts not only on patients but also on the healthcare professionals involved, who may experience trauma as 'second victims'.

Implementing Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) for healthcare staff after AEs could be a valuable strategy to support their resilience and recovery, similar to its use in other high-stress professions.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Critical incident stress debriefing after adverse patient safety events. Harrison, R., Wu, A.[2018]

Social resilience is a complex, multilevel construct that involves not just individual traits but also the ability of groups to maintain positive relationships and recover from stress, which is crucial for military and behavioral science applications.

The study identifies nine personal resources that enhance social resilience and introduces a computer-based educational program aimed at improving these resources among U.S. Army troops, which could provide important data on effective interventions for building social resilience.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Social resilience: the value of social fitness with an application to the military. Cacioppo, JT., Reis, HT., Zautra, AJ.[2011]

The Building Resilient Communities Workshop brought together 34 participants from various sectors to develop actionable strategies for enhancing community and disaster resilience planning.

Key strategies included creating an integrated national strategy, increasing community engagement through information sharing, and emphasizing that any involvement in disaster resilience planning can improve community resilience, rather than waiting for the perfect solution.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Building resilient communities: A facilitated discussion. Bowles, R., Anderson, GS., Vaughan, C.[2018]

The implementation of the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Program for air traffic controllers in Germany showed that after five years, the program's fiscal benefits exceeded its costs, indicating economic efficiency.

The program significantly improved the safety culture within the German Air Traffic Control Services, with even those who did not use the services recognizing its value as a supportive resource.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Economic evaluation of CISM--a pilot study. Vogt, J., Leonhardt, J., Köper, B., et al.[2019]

The study involved 38 professionals who were trained to implement five community projects over 14 months in the Ayacucho region of Peru, addressing the psychosocial effects of political violence.

Results indicated that these community action plans led to strengthened local services and the identification of new social resources, highlighting the importance of community capacity building for improving mental health outcomes.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Improving community mental health services for people affected by political violence in Ayacucho, Perú. Rivera-Holguin, M., Velazquez, T., Custodio, E., et al.[2019]

In a study of 51 family members of critically injured patients, higher family demands were linked to lower family strengths and adaptation, indicating that stressors significantly impact family well-being.

Effective problem-solving communication was identified as a key family strength that positively influences family adaptation, suggesting that interventions focusing on this area could enhance support for families during critical times.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Impact of family demands and family strengths and capabilities on family well-being and adaptation after critical injury. Leske, JS., Jiricka, MK.[2015]

A 2-day localized crisis intervention training program significantly improved participants' resistance and resiliency scores, indicating its effectiveness in enhancing mental health skills.

Organizations should consider investing in crisis intervention training for employees, as it not only benefits individual resilience but also contributes to the overall resilience of the organization.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Improving resistance and resiliency through crisis intervention training. Chan, AO., Chan, YH., Kee, JP.[2015]

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