The impact of Stress Management and Resailience Training (SMART) on academic physicians during the implementation of a new Health Information System: An exploratory randomized controlled trial

by Edward G. Spilg, Hanna Kuk, Lesley Ananny, Kylie McNeill, Vicki LeBlanc, Brent A. Bauer, Amit Sood, Philip S. Wells

Objective

The Stress Management and Resilience Training (SMART) program is an evidence-based intervention designed to build resilience in physicians in clinical practice. The objective of the current study was to assess the impact of the SMART program on academic physicians’ levels of resilience, subjective happiness, stress, and anxiety, and specifically during the implementation of a new hospital-wide Health Information System (HIS).

Methods

A total of 40 physicians in a tertiary care academic hospital were randomized (allocation ratio 1:1) to either the SMART intervention or the control condition. The SMART intervention consisted of one mandatory two-hour in-person workshop and an optional 24-week online program, designed to support the materials delivered in the workshop. Outcome measures were assessed using validated scales administered online at baseline and at 3-months and 6-months follow-up.

Results

After adjusting for baseline levels of each outcome, no statistically significant intervention effect was observed for resilience, subjective happiness, stress or anxiety at 3-months or 6-months follow-up. However, physicians in the intervention group demonstrated improvements in resilience, stress and anxiety at follow-up that were within the range of clinically relevant differences.

Conclusions

The findings of this exploratory study provide modest support that the SMART intervention may be beneficial for proactively addressing physician wellness during the implementation of a new HIS and that larger randomized trials are warranted.

Trial registration

NCT04384861.