Whole-Person

Center for Whole-Person Research

Overview

Caring for our clinicians guides much of our research within AdventHealth. We know that promoting the well-being of the healthcare workforce impacts the safety and quality of care provided to patients, as well as recruitment and retention of employees. It is also important to note that caring for staff is an end in itself and the right thing for healthcare organizations to do. Our work focuses on identifying and addressing the contributors to stress for healthcare workers. The interventions we study are intended to build skills and understanding around coping and recovery. Ultimately, we want our work to help clinicians reconnect to meaning and purpose in their work and to promote well-being in mind, body, spirit, and community.

To read more about our work, see the following publications.

                                                                                                              PUBLICATION LIST*

                                                                   (* availability of full text based on institutional or personal subscription)

Bailey, A. K., Sawyer, A. T., & Robinson, P. S. (2021). A psychoeducational group intervention for nurses: Rationale, theoretical framework, and development. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 10783903211001116. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/10783903211001116  Full text

Bailey, A.K., Sawyer, A.T., Tao, H. Durr, L.I., Sabapathy, R, Lajeunesse, A., Hall, T.  The Intentional Practitioner: Evaluating the impact of a well-being retreat for physicians and advanced practice providers. To be submitted.

Celano, T., Harris, S., Sawyer, A. T., & Hamilton, T. (2022). Promoting spiritual well-being among nurses. Nurse Leader, 20(2), 188–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2021.08.002  Full text

Green, J.F., Brennan, A.M., Sawyer, A.T., Celano, P. & Robinson, P.S. (2022) Self-care laddering: A new program to encourage exemplary self-care. Nurse Leader. Accepted for publication

Harris, S. L., Green, J. F., Tao, H., & Robinson, P. S. (2021). Examining associations with mental well-being and faith in nurses (LIFT). The Journal of Nursing Administration, 51(2), 106–113. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0000000000000978  Full text

Harris, S.L., Sawyer, A.T., Tao, H & Bailey, A.K. A mixed-methods pilot study of a well-being intervention for healthcare chaplains. Submitted for publication.

Harris, S., & Tao, H. (2022). The impact of US nurses' personal religious and spiritual beliefs on their mental well-being and burnout: A path analysis. Journal of Religion and Health, 61(3), 1772–1791. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01203-y   Full text

McManus, K., & Robinson, P. S. (2022). A thematic analysis of the effects of compassion rounds on clinicians and the families of NICU patients. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, 28(1), 69–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/08854726.2020.1745489  Full text

McManus, K., & Robinson, P. (2021). Evaluation of NICU healthcare providers' experience of Patient Ethics and Communication Excellence (PEACE) rounds. Advances in Neonatal Care, 21(2), 142–151. https://doi.org/10.1097/ANC.0000000000000774  Full text

Robinson P. S. (2022). Last Responders. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 60(7), 2–3. https://doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20220610-02  Full text

Sawyer, A. T., & Bailey, A. K. (2022). Beyond clinical competence: Prioritizing and supporting nurses' mental and spiritual health. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 60(8), 3–5. https://doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20220705-01  Full text

Sawyer, A. T., Harris, S., Green, J. F., Du, Y., Richard, T., Robinson, P. S., Celano, P., Kelly, K., & Bailey, A. K. (2022). Clinical Leader Series: A virtual mental well-being initiative for nurse leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 52(3), 177–184. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0000000000001126  Full text

Sawyer, A. T., Bailey, A. K., Green, J. F., Sun, J., & Robinson, P. S. (2021). Resilience, Insight, Self-Compassion, and Empowerment (RISE): A randomized controlled trial of a psychoeducational group program for nurses. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 10783903211033338. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/10783903211033338  Full text

Sawyer A.T., Pepe J., Robinson P.S., Bailey A.K. & Sun J. (2022) Employment status of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A matched case-control study. The Journal of Nursing Administration. 52(11), 620-624.  Full Text

Tully S. & Tao H. (2022) Gratitude practice to decrease work-related stress and burnout: A quantitative study of acute-care health professionals. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. In press

 

Contact Information

Center for Whole-Person Research
301 E. Princeton Street, Orlando FL 32804

Meet the Team

Patricia Robinson, PhD, ARNP, NE-BC

Patricia Robinson, PhD, ARNP

Senior Director of Research

Full Bio
Stephanie Harris

Stephanie Harris, BA, MLS

Biobehavioral Research Scientist

Full Bio
Amanda Sawyer

Amanda T. Sawyer, PhD

Biobehavioral Research Scientist

Full Bio

Our Capabilities

With the expertise and clinical experience of our staff scientists and licensed mental health counselor, we develop new interventions and test existing interventions to improve the well-being and support the recovery of our healthcare workforce. Principal among these is the RISE© (Resilience, Insight, Self-compassion, and Empowerment) program, a multi-week psychoeducational group program that promotes self-care, protects against burnout, and builds social support among participants. RISE© has been studied in direct care nurses (see published papers above) and is currently being studied in nurse leaders. In addition, a study to assess nurse retention during the pandemic of those who participated in RISE© indicated that the program may have contributed to nurses remaining at the bedside. We continue to develop and study new interventions to address the mind, body, and spirit of our caregivers.

It is imperative to collect meaningful, accurate, and reliable data to inform our priorities and target our interventions. In collaboration with our lead biostatistician, we create and validate psychometrically sound instrumentation to measure specific constructs and to test theoretical models. In addition, we work to validate existing instruments within the health care workforce. The instruments we create and/or validate collect important data to support our work in assessing and promoting whole-person health in our caregivers, patients, and community. Our most recent work includes validating measures of moral injury in our healthcare workforce.