Increasing Staff Engagement in Wellness Activities: Initiatives to Improve Well-Being and Reduce Burnout

Abstract

Background: Healthcare staff face an increasing demand and workforce shortages, which can lead to an increased risk of burnout and impaired sense of well-being. This impacts staff mental health, patient care quality, cost of care, and the organization’s ability to retain staff. While several workplace wellness activities, such as mindfulness meditation, have been shown to reduce burnout, staff participation in these activities is often low. This limits the potential impact of the wellness activities; therefore, strategies to increase participation should be employed. Purpose: This project aimed to increase staff participation in the weekly meditation sessions offered at the Community Partners Integrated Healthcare clinic, thereby enhancing staff well-being and reducing burnout through strategic multichannel communication, incentives, and leadership support. The project also explored barriers and facilitators to participation to inform future initiatives at the clinic. Methods: This project employed the Model for Improvement and the PDSA cycle. Staff were recruited through email for voluntary participation. Interventions consisted of strategic multichannel communication, including emails, flyers, educational presentation, weekly reminders, and personal contact with staff. Additional interventions featured offering incentives through raffles and leadership participation. Participants completed pre- and post-surveys on their well-being and burnout levels and provided feedback. Attendance was monitored before and after the interventions. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Staff feedback was presented as a narrative summary. Results: The project was implemented over four weeks, with 10 out of 50 staff attending the first meditation session (20%), and 13 out of 50 staff attending the last session (26%). The pre- and post-survey responses on the well-being and burnout levels did not show significant improvement. However, staff feedback suggested positive engagement and experience. A common barrier to participation was schedule conflict. Several facilitators, such as peer support, supervisor support, incentives, team-building opportunities, and communication, were reported. Email communication and posting flyers were deemed as feasible interventions. Conclusions: This project highlighted the challenges in developing interventions to increase staff participation in wellness activities and explored barriers and facilitators that could impact engagement. Additionally, the project offered insights into the complex nuances in addressing and evaluating burnout and well-being among healthcare staff.