TY  - JOUR
AU  - Liu, Wenhua
AU  - Wang, Quan
AU  - Zheng, Danli
AU  - Mei, Junhua
AU  - Lu, Jiajia
AU  - Chen, Guohua
AU  - Wang, Wei
AU  - Ding, Fengfei
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/7/12
TI  - The Effects of a Complex Interactive Multimodal Intervention on Personalized Stress Management Among Health Care Workers in China: Nonrandomized Controlled Study
JO  - J Med Internet Res
SP  - e45422
VL  - 26
KW  - multimodal intervention
KW  - stress management
KW  - health care workers
KW  - perceived stress
KW  - autonomic nervous system
KW  - stress
KW  - management
KW  - mental health
KW  - engagement
KW  - human support
KW  - physiological stress
KW  - psychological stress
KW  - social network
KW  - mobile phone
AB  - Background: Health care workers (HCWs) frequently face multiple stressors at work, particularly those working night shifts. HCWs who have experienced distress may find it difficult to adopt stress management approaches, even if they are aware of the effects of stress and coping processes. Therefore, an individualized intervention may be required to assist distressed HCWs in bridging the “knowledge-practice” gap in stress management and effectively alleviating stress symptoms. Objective: The main objective of this research was to compare the effects of a complex interactive multimodal intervention (CIMI) to self-guided stress management interventions on stress symptoms of distressed HCWs, as measured by physiological (heart rate variability), psychological (perceived stress, mental distress, and subjective happiness), and sleep disorder (fatigue and sleepiness) indicators. Methods: We conducted a nonrandomized, controlled study in 2 Chinese general hospitals. The participants in this study were 245 HCWs who fulfilled at least 1 of the 3 dimensions on the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale. All eligible individuals were required to complete a questionnaire and wear a 24-hour Holter device to determine the physiological signs of stress as indexed by heart rate variability at both baseline and after the intervention. The CIMI group received a 12-week online intervention with 4 components—mobile stress management instruction, a web-based WeChat social network, personalized feedback, and a nurse coach, whereas the control group simply received a self-guided intervention. Results: After a 12-week intervention, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) scores reduced significantly in the CIMI group (mean difference [MD] –5.31, 95% CI –6.26 to –4.37; P<.001) compared to the baseline levels. The changes in PSS scores before and after the intervention exhibited a significant difference between the CIMI and control groups (d=–0.64; MD –4.03, 95% CI –5.91 to –2.14; P<.001), and the effect was medium. In terms of physiological measures, both the control group (MD –9.56, 95% CI –16.9 to –2.2; P=.01) and the CIMI group (MD –8.45, 95% CI –12.68 to –4.22; P<.001) demonstrated a significant decrease in the standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (SDNN) within the normal clinical range; however, there were no significant differences between the 2 groups (d=0.03; MD 1.11, 95% CI –7.38 to 9.59; P=.80). Conclusions: The CIMI was an effective intervention for improving sleep disorders, as well as parts of the psychological stress measures in distressed HCWs. The findings provide objective evidence for developing a mobile stress management intervention that is adaptable and accessible to distressed HCWs, but its long-term effects should be investigated in future research. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05239065; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05239065 
SN  - 1438-8871
UR  - https://www.jmir.org/2024/1/e45422
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/45422
DO  - 10.2196/45422
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/45422
ER  -