Effect of a Life Coaching Intervention on the Well-being and Distress of Physicians

Burnout Clinical Trial

Official title:

Effect of a Life Coaching Intervention on the Well-being and Distress of Physicians: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05149911
• Other study ID #: 20210617-01H
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: July 14, 2022
• Est. completion date: November 28, 2025

Study information

• Verified date: November 2023
• Source: Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
• Contact: Sylvain Boet, MD, PhD
• Phone: 613-737-8899
• Email: sboet[@]toh.ca
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

There is a widespread epidemic of distress and burnout (i.e., extreme distress) among Canadian physicians. Burnout is costly to physicians, patients, and healthcare organizations as it compromises physicians' own health and reduces their capacity to deliver high quality, safe care to patients. Life coaching delivered by certified coaches is a personal development tool. Life coaching has been proven to help individuals maximize their strengths and skills to handle stressors, regain control over their lives, act according to their core values, and achieve their full potential, consequently reducing their vulnerability to burnout. The investigators will evaluate life coaching for physicians' well-being in the current Canadian context. Physicians from centres in Canada will be randomly assigned to life coaching (intervention) or no coaching (control) group. The coaching group will receive a 1-hour initial coaching session followed by five 30-minute coaching sessions occurring at a frequency of every 2 to 3 weeks within 5 months (total of 3.5 coaching hours). All coaching sessions will be delivered virtually by certified life coaches. The investigators will assess the impact of coaching on physician distress and quality of life before and after the intervention.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 180
• Est. completion date: November 28, 2025
• Est. primary completion date: November 22, 2024
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Registered staff physician, resident, or fellow

• Currently practicing in Canada

• (For the 'Francophone minority patients' group only) Sometimes conducts thorough consultations completely in French for French-speaking patients outside Quebec

Exclusion Criteria:

• Previously received life coaching in the last 5 years

• Currently receiving psychotherapy

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Burnout
• Burnout, Psychological
• Distress, Emotional

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Life Coaching
Sessions with a professional life coach.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Canada	The Ottawa Hospital	Ottawa	Ontario

Sponsors (3)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute	Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society, University of Ottawa

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Canada, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Change in Quality of Life score at 5 months	Assessed using the reduced version of the World Health Organization (WHO) Quality of Life (QOL) questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF), one of the most widely used questionnaires for assessing adult QOL, including among healthcare professionals.	5 months
Secondary	Change in Burnout score at 5 months	Measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Minimum score 0, maximum score 132. A higher score is worse, i.e., more burnout.	5 months
Secondary	Change in Resilience score at 5 months	Measured using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Sale. Minimum score 0, maximum score 100. A higher score is better, i.e., more resilience.	5 months
Secondary	Change in Job Satisfaction score at 5 months	Measured using the Global Job Satisfaction subscale of the Physician Job Satisfaction Scale. Minimum score 12, maximum score 60. A higher score is better, i.e., more satisfied.	5 months
Secondary	Change in Job Engagement score at 5 months	Measured using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Minimum score 0, maximum score 102. A higher score is better, i.e., better engagement.	5 months
Secondary	Change in Job Empowerment and Meaning score at 5 months	Measured using the Empowerment at Work Scale. Minimum score is 12, maximum score is 84. A higher score is better, i.e., higher empowerment.	Baseline and 5 months
Secondary	Absence from work due to mental or physical illness	Measured as the number of days reported by participants.	Baseline
Secondary	Absence from work due to mental or physical illness	Measured as the number of days reported by participants.	5 months