Healthcare workers (HCWs) often experience high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression due to high workloads and responsibilities in their professional activities. Therefore, recovery from work-related stress is highly important in HCWs. The Recovery Experience Questionnaire (REQ) is a 16-item self-reported measure covering four stress recovery domains: psychological detachment from work, relaxation, mastery, and control. The current study aimed to test the REQ’s psychometric properties in a sample of Lithuanian HCWs. In total, 471 HCWs from various healthcare institutions participated in this study. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the structure of the REQ. We also used the Brief Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4) and the World Health Organization Psychological Well-Being Index (WHO-5) to assess the mental health of the study participants. The CFA analysis supported the correlated four-factor structure of the REQ. Furthermore, we found significant correlations between the levels of REQ and anxiety, depression, and well-being. We conclude that the REQ is a valid measure that could be a useful tool in research on HCWs’ mental health. It could also be used in healthcare settings for the evaluation of well-being among healthcare staff.

Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) interventions can be as effective as traditional face-to-face therapy for various mental health conditions. However, a significant challenge these online interventions face is the high rate of people who start but then stop using the program. This early discontinuation can be seen as incomplete treatment and can reduce the potential benefits for users. By exploring why people stop using ICBT programs, we can better understand how to address this problem. This study aimed to examine the experiences of healthcare workers who had stopped using a therapist-guided internet-delivered stress recovery program to gain deeper insights into usage attrition. We conducted semi-structured interviews with twelve participants who were female healthcare workers ranging in age from 24 to 68 years (M = 44.67, SD = 11.80). Telephone interviews were conducted and the data were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Qualitative data analysis revealed that most participants had multiple reasons for discontinuing the program. They identified both barriers and facilitators to using the program, which could be categorized as either personal or program related. Personal aspects included life circumstances, personal characteristics, and psychological responses to the program. Program-related aspects encompassed technical factors, program content, and the level of support provided. The findings of this study can enhance our understanding of why people stop using guided internet-delivered programs. We discuss the practical and research implications, with the ultimate aim of improving the design and efficacy of internet interventions.

Multiple empirical studies have revealed significant pandemic effects of COVID-19 on mental health in various populations. This study aimed to analyze the incidences of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and adjustment disorder (AjD) in national healthcare in 2018–2020 in one of the European countries—Lithuania—and estimate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on PTSD and AjD incidences in 2020. The national healthcare registry was used for estimations of diagnosis of PTSD, AjD, and major depressive disorder (MD). The study revealed that stress-related disorders PTSD and AjD are diagnosed rarely, resulting in a considerable gap between the expected prevalence and incidences of these diagnoses in healthcare in Lithuania. Moreover, a significant decline in mental disorders incidence in healthcare in 2020, in comparison to 2018 and 2019, was found, revealing that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on access to healthcare services and increased barriers for mental disorders treatment. The study indicates that major developments in building up knowledge about the effects of trauma and life stressors on mental health are needed in Lithuania and other countries to increase awareness about stress-related disorders and improve care for trauma survivors, in particular in the context of the pandemics or other large-scale disasters.

Objectives: The study aimed to assess the mental health and well-being of Lithuanian healthcare workers by gathering demographic information, identifying common stressors affecting the work environment, evaluating mental health, and exploring directions for psychosocial care. Additionally, the...

Background: Prompts offer a promising strategy to promote client engagement in internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT). However, if the prompts do not meet the needs of clients, they can potentially be more obtrusive rather than helpful. Objective: The aim of this study was to test if prompts tailored based on timing and frequency, aligned with preintervention goal setting, can increase usage and the efficacy of a therapist-supported ICBT stress recovery intervention for health care workers. Methods: The 2-arm randomized controlled trial included 87 health care workers (99% female, aged 19-68 years: mean 39.61, SD 11.49): 43 in the standard intervention group and 44 in the tailored prompts group. The primary outcome measure was the Recovery Experiences Questionnaire, and the secondary outcomes were the Perceived Stress Scale-4, the Patient Health Questionnaire-4, and the World Health Organization-5 Well-Being Index. The self-report data were collected before the intervention (September 2022), postintervention (October 2022), and 6-month follow-up (May 2023). Results: The results showed that tailored prompts, although appreciated by the majority (39/40, 98%), did not improve intervention usage indicators, such as the number of logins (t85=–0.91; P=.36), modules opened (t83.57=–1.47; P=.15), modules completed (t85=–0.71; P=.48), exercises completed (t85=–1.05; P=.30), or the time spent using the program (χ22=1.1; P=.57). Similarly, tailored prompts did not increase the effects of the intervention in terms of stress recovery skills (Cohen d ranging from 0.31 to 0.85), perceived stress (d=–0.08; –0.70), depression (d=–0.11; –0.38), anxiety (d=–0.32; –0.64), or psychological well-being (d=0.26; 0.46). In addition, the standard intervention group showed greater long-term stress recovery effects than the group using the internet-delivered intervention supplemented by tailored prompts (β=–0.24, P=.03). Conclusions: Although the study confirmed the efficacy of the program, the merits of tailored prompts in ICBT for stress recovery were not supported. Future research is needed to test the effects of the stress recovery intervention supplemented by goal setting and tailored prompts. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05553210; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05553210

Internet-delivered CBT interventions effectively improve different aspects of mental health, although the therapist's role remains unclear. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the efficacy of a therapist-supported 6-week internet-delivered intervention in improving stress recovery among healthcare workers compared to a group with optional therapist support. A total of 196 participants were recruited and randomly allocated to regular therapists' support or optional therapists' support groups. The primary outcome measure was the Recovery Experiences Questionnaire (REQ), developed to assess four components of stress recovery: psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery, and control. Secondary outcomes measured perceived stress (PSS-10), anxiety (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-9), and psychological well-being (WHO-5). All four stress recovery skills improved significantly after participating in the intervention at a 3-month follow-up, with small to medium effects (0.27-0.65) in both groups. At follow-up, we also found a significant reduction in perceived stress, depression, and anxiety in both groups, as well as an improvement in psychological well-being. The results indicate that ICBT can be effective in improving stress recovery skills among healthcare workers with optional support from the therapist, provided at the participants' request. This RCT suggests that optional therapist support could meet participants' needs and reduce resources needed in routine care.