Reducing COVID-related PTSD symptoms in Frontline Healthcare Workers through Trauma-Focused Treatment in Employee Assistance Programs

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Project Summary/Abstract Healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic are experiencing unprecedented levels of stress and trauma exposure, resulting in exceptionally high rates (27-57%) of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) have expanded their offerings to support healthcare workers during the pandemic, they lack the capacity to provide time-intensive first-line treatments for PTSD. To address this problem, the study team has adapted a standard first-line 12-session treatment into a brief, 4-6 session format (Prolonged Exposure for Primary Care; PE-PC) and demonstrated its efficacy in military service members. Given the rising tide of PTSD in frontline healthcare workers, there is an urgent need to test the effectiveness and subsequently implement PE-PC for this population by leveraging the existing resource of the healthcare system EAP. The long-term goal is to address COVID-19-related PTSD symptoms among healthcare workers and other vulnerable populations. The overall objective of this application is to demonstrate the effectiveness and identify barriers and facilitators to the implementation of PE-PC in healthcare system EAPs. The central hypothesis is that PE-PC will reduce COVID-19-related PTSD symptoms and improve functioning, compared to EAP Treatment as Usual (TAU). The rationale is that effectively treating COVID-19- related PTSD in the EAP setting is a scalable and cost-effective way to reduce healthcare worker distress and disability and will accrue downstream benefits to the healthcare organization and its patients. To accomplish the objective, this project will test the effectiveness of PE-PC, delivered by EAP counselors via telehealth, versus EAP TAU in 360 healthcare workers with PTSD at four southeast Michigan healthcare systems. This Hybrid Type 1 effectiveness-implementation trial will test the effectiveness of PE-PC and gather data regarding implementation through process evaluation and implementation mapping. The specific aims are: Specific Aim 1: Compare the effectiveness of PE-PC versus EAP TAU in reducing PTSD symptoms at 6-week (post- treatment), 3-, and 6-month follow-ups. Specific Aim 2: Compare the effectiveness of PE-PC versus EAP TAU in reducing burnout and improving job performance and functioning at 6-week, 3-, and 6-month follow-ups. Exploratory Aim 1: Confirm the mechanism and identify key mediators/moderators. Exploratory Aim 2: Conduct cost-effectiveness analysis. Exploratory Aim 3: Prepare for future implementation by conducting process evaluation and implementation mapping. This strategy will yield an implementation strategy that is targeted to address EAP-specific implementation barriers. This project is significant because it will contribute to the field a point-of-care intervention for frontline HCWs with COVID-19 related PTSD, thus improving clinical practice for this vulnerable population and increasing preparedness for future public health emergencies. This proposal is innovative because it will it will shift delivery of efficacious PTSD treatment from lengthy care in a traditional specialty care setting to brief treatment with a telehealth option in a frontline community setting.