Front Line Resilience: Evaluation of a virtual curriculum with medical providers and firefighters during COVID-19
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47265/cjim.v3i1.5388Keywords:
COVID-19 pandemic, front line health care workers, firefighters, medical student, resiliency, mindfulness, frontline healthcare workersAbstract
Background: The Front Line Resilience (FLR) program was developed to provide mental resiliency tools to firefighters, health care professionals, and medical students serving Asheville, NC during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants attended 15–30-minute weekly Zoom sessions to learn mindfulness topics. Interested participants were paired with a practice partner. The purpose of this study was to evaluate participants’ perceptions of the effectiveness of a virtual curriculum on their mindfulness practices and resiliency.
Methods: FLR participants were invited to evaluate program effectiveness via online feedback surveys. Survey respondents were then invited to participate in an interview for more in-depth evaluation. Surveys were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Interviews were transcribed and independently assessed by two researchers via manifest content analysis.
Results: Of all 46 participants who attended at least one FLR session, ten respondents completed the survey. Of those respondents, five (50%) participated in interviews. Respondents indicated that FLR had a moderate (70%) or significant (30%) effect on their mindfulness practice, and a moderate (60%) or significant (30%) effect on resilience. Thematic analysis of interviews revealed participants learned specific techniques to expand their resilience toolbox and valued connection and accountability with other frontline professionals; however, their experiences did not always meet expectations.
Limitations: This study had a low survey response rate of 21.7% which may have led to non-response bias.
Conclusions: FLR positively impacted mindfulness practices and resiliency of frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This model could be used to support mindfulness practices for other professions.
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