Research Location: Island Health, University of Victoria

Burnout and suffering in health professionals reached epidemic proportions during the COVID-19 pandemic: between 60-80% of Canadian physicians reported burnout in 2021 (up from 30% in 2018) and 47% met the criteria for depression, while 75% of nurses experienced burnout. Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to decrease burnout and increase resilience and meaning in health professionals. However, further evidence is needed around its long-term impact.
We seek to close this gap by bringing together a collaborative team to co-develop a program of research that investigates the effectiveness of an intensive mindfulness meditation retreat and subsequent community of practice as a therapeutic intervention to improve wellbeing in healthcare professionals.
With research users and trainees, we will develop a study protocol that uses quantitative and qualitative design and analysis (using narrative interviews and clinical surveys) to evaluate the effects of a 5 day retreat, with follow-up at 1, 6 and 12 months. We will work together to ensure our engagement and the research are equitable, accessible, and inclusive for diverse healthcare professionals, and will identify funding opportunities to move our collaboration forward.

Suicide is the leading cause of non-accidental deaths in children in BC. The number of youth suicide attempts and hospitalization rates associated with self-inflicted injury rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing calls for public health to consider more universal prevention approaches that promote strength and protect against suicide before a crisis emerges. Upstream, universal prevention strategies help all youth learn about and build skills to identify and manage emotions, especially when feelings of distress become too intense. Fostering skills related to emotional regulation, healthy relationships, and responsible decision-making are core competencies of social-emotional learning (SEL). SEL holds promise in being an integral part of comprehensive youth suicide prevention, but more research is needed to determine how SEL can be applied to complement existing targeted approaches and general suicide awareness campaigns. Our proposed work aims to review best practices of SEL promotion in the context of suicide prevention in schools with the goal of developing a toolkit and training workshop for Island Health’s newly appointed team of School Health Promotion Specialists to support their suicide prevention efforts in schools