Dear helping professional,
We invite you to take part in a 14-day online training program designed to enhance well-being among helping professionals. This experiential training focuses on cultivating well-being and supporting those who dedicate their time and energy to helping others.
As part of this training, you will also participate in a research study that aims to examine the effectiveness of this mobile program in strengthening well-being in professionals like you.
Below, you will find more information about the training and the research to help you decide whether you would like to take part.
The research and online well-being training
We developed two formats in which the training will be offered. These self-guided trainings will be delivered via a mobile app, consisting of short daily exercises over 14 consecutive days. The two forms differ in their focus and type of exercises yet have the same purpose: to help you restore your well-being. Previous research has shown that both forms generally work well: they help professionals experience fewer symptoms of work-related stress, while enhancing satisfaction with their work. You will be randomly allocated to receive one of the two trainings or to the waiting list group which can receive the training afterwards.
The training is offered to you for free, as it is financed from research funds. As a token of appreciation for your time and contribution, you can take part of a draw for three universal gift cards worth of 100€. Also, you can receive a personal report describing the course of your mental health and work satisfaction over time during the study period.
Who can participate?
Participants must be over 18 and employed in a helping profession, such as healthcare, education, social work, mental health services, or any field focused on people-oriented work which aim to increase peoples´ well-being.
What does participation in the research entail?
Those assigned to one of the two trainings will be asked to use the mobile app for 14 consecutive days, spending about 20 minutes a day doing short self-guided exercises. All participants, whether directly receiving a training or being in waiting list group, will be asked to complete a questionnaire at three points: before the training/waiting period (T1), directly after the 2-week training/2 weeks after T1, respectively (T2), and one month after finishing the training/T2, respectively (T3). Filling out a questionnaire will take about 20 minutes. After this latter assessment, people in the waiting list group can also participate in a training.
What are the benefits and potential discomforts of participating in this research?
An advantage could be that you benefit from using the mobile app, that you feel supported in your well-being. By participating, you also contribute to more knowledge and scientific evidence for the use and possible benefits of such interventions. If the results are positive, the app may be offered to helping professionals more widely. In this way, your participation will also help others, who work tirelessly and dedicate their lives helping others, but may also experience work-related stress.
One possible advantage, but also disadvantage, of completing the questionnaires may be that you become more aware of how your work with people impacts your well-being and stress levels. If you feel overwhelmed during the study, you can find a free, confidential support from a helpline near you: https://findahelpline.com. Another potential advantage is that at the end of the study, you will receive a personal report about your progress during the intervention. You can also win a universal gift card worth €100.
How will your data be processed?
Your data is used only for research, anonymized, stored securely, and no information is shared with third parties. Results will be published in scholarly journals without any identifying information.
Voluntary participation
You are free to join and to withdraw from study participation without any consequences, and you may request to have your data deleted at any time before data analysis begins.
Contact
For any inquiries, please contact MSc. Denis Deriglazov at the Institute of Applied Psychology, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia, and the University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Netherlands. Email: deriglazov1@uniba.sk
Who is overseeing the research?
The research is led by Prof. Mgr. Júlia Halamová, PhD., at the Institute of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava. This work is supported by the Vedecká grantová agentúra VEGA Grant 1/0054/24 and GUKE 2024 Grant UK/3078/2024. Funded by the NextGenerationEU through the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Slovakia under the project No. 09I03-03-V04-00258.
If you want to participate on research, please click on the link below and register in to the research.