Gratitude Practice to Decrease Stress and Burnout in Acute-Care Health Professionals

Work stress and burnout are reported barriers to quality patient care and job satisfaction. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of participation in a 21-day gratitude journaling intervention on healthcare professionals' reported gratitude levels. A secondary aim was to determine the correla...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Online journal of issues in nursing 2023-09, Vol.28 (3)
Main Authors: Tully, Salena, Tao, Hong, Johnson, Michele, Lebron, Michele, Land, Tammy, Armendariz, Laura
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Work stress and burnout are reported barriers to quality patient care and job satisfaction. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of participation in a 21-day gratitude journaling intervention on healthcare professionals' reported gratitude levels. A secondary aim was to determine the correlation between increased gratitude and decreased work-related stress and burnout. Gratitude increased post-intervention (p< 0.05) and remained elevated three months later (p< 0.01). Stress significantly decreased post-intervention (p < 0.01), and remained decreased (p< 0.01) at the twelve-week measure. Burnout significantly decreased post-intervention, with a 3-month effect. Higher gratitude was significantly associated with lower stress (p< 0.01), disengagement (p< 0.05), and exhaustion (p< 0.05). This is the first known study to evaluate the practice of gratitude for managing burnout in healthcare workers. Implications are significant considering the consequence of negative job demands on the quality of patient care and work satisfaction.
ISSN:1091-3734
1091-3734
DOI:10.3912/OJIN.Vol28No03PPT75b