Breathe with the Waves (BWW)—Creating and Assessing the Potential of a New Stress Management Intervention for Oncology Personnel

TL;DR

A new online stress management program called Breathe with the Waves (BWW) was created and tested for oncology staff, showing promise in reducing stress and improving work performance.

Contribution

BWW is a novel, accessible, and tailored online stress management program designed specifically for oncology personnel.

Findings

Participants found BWW acceptable, satisfactory, and relevant for stress management.

BWW was associated with benefits like reduced stress, improved work performance, and increased mindfulness.

Potential outcome measures included physical health, mental health, and work-related improvements.

Abstract

Oncology staff face some of the highest stress levels in healthcare. Stress management programs are often difficult to integrate into daily routines because they require excessive time, are costly, or are not tailored to the realities of oncology personnel. To address these challenges, we developed Breathe with the Waves (BWW), a new online program using breathing techniques for stress management. In this study, researchers and health professionals collaborated to create BWW. Twenty oncology professionals completed a questionnaire and were subsequently interviewed. Participants said the program was acceptable, satisfactory and relevant. They reported benefits such as reduced stress, improved work performance, and increased mindfulness. Some challenges, such as discomfort with stress awareness or mild physical reactions, were also noted. Potential outcome measures fell into the following categories: physical and mental health, relational outcomes, work-related outcomes, mindfulness, and personal practice (i.e., how participants may incorporate BWW into their day-to-day activities). These findings suggest that short, accessible programs like BWW could help support oncology personnel.

Healthcare providers in oncology experience exceptionally high stress rates. Research emphasizes that stress management programs must be quick to implement, flexible to accommodate demanding schedules, cost-effective, accessible to all staff, and tailored to the needs of oncology personnel. Programs that fail to meet these criteria often struggle with uptake and sustainability. This mixed-methods exploratory study aimed (1) to design an online stress management program, Breathe with the Waves (BWW), based on breathing techniques; (2) to evaluate its acceptability, satisfaction, and relevance; (3) to identify perceived benefits and challenges; and (4) to generate potential outcome measures for future studies. A team of Canadian researchers and end-users co-designed the intervention. Twenty oncology professionals completed BWW, which featured pre-recorded breathing videos, and provided feedback via questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. We used t-tests and Wilcoxon rank tests to analyze quantitative data, and template analysis for qualitative data. Participants found BWW highly acceptable, satisfactory, and relevant. Participants reported three categories of benefits: stress reduction, improved work performance, and increased mindfulness. Challenges included anticipated challenges and experienced challenges. Potential outcome measures fell into six categories: physical health, mental health, relational, work, mindfulness and personal practice. BWW, available in English and French, represents a promising and accessible approach to supporting the well-being of oncology personnel.