Vickybot, a chatbot for anxiety-depressive symptoms and work-related burnout in primary care and healthcare professionals: development, feasibility, and potential effectiveness studies

BACKGROUND

A significant proportion of people attending Primary Care (PC) have anxiety-depressive symptoms and work-related burnout compounded by a lack of resources to meet their needs. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this problem and digital tools have been proposed as a solution.

OBJECTIVE

We present the development, feasibility, and potential effectiveness studies of Vickybot, a chatbot aimed at screening, monitoring, and reducing anxiety-depressive symptoms and work-related burnout in PC patients and healthcare workers.

METHODS

User-centered development strategies were adopted. Main functions included self-assessments, psychological modules, and emergency alerts. Healthy controls (HCs) tested Vickybot for reliability. (1) Simulation: HCs used Vickybot for 2 weeks to simulate different clinical situations. (2) Feasibility and effectiveness study: People consulting PC or healthcare workers with mental health problems were offered to use Vickybot for one month. Self-assessments for anxiety (GAD-7) and depression (PHQ-9) symptoms, and work-related burnout (based on the Maslach Burnout Inventory) were administered at baseline and every two weeks. Feasibility was determined from both subjective and objective user-engagement Indicators (UEIs). Potential effectiveness was measured using paired t-tests or the Wilcoxon signed-rank test for the change in self-assessment scores.

RESULTS

40 HCs tested Vickybot simultaneously, and data was transmitted and registered reliably. (1) Simulation: 17 HCs (73% female; mean age=36.5±9.7) received 98.8% of the expected modules according to each simulation. Suicidal alerts were correctly received. (2) Feasibility and potential effectiveness study: 34 patients (15 from PC and 19 healthcare workers; 77% female; mean age=35.3±10.1) completed the first self-assessments, with 34 (100%) presenting anxiety symptoms, 32 (94%) depressive symptoms, and 22 (64.7%) work-related burnout. Nine (26.5%) patients completed the second self-assessments after two weeks of use. No significant differences were found between the scores of the first and second self-assessments for anxiety [t(8) = 1.000, P = .34] or depressive [t(8) = .40, P = .70] symptoms. However, work-related burnout scores were moderately reduced (Z = -2.07, P = 0.038, r = .32). There was a non-significant trend towards higher reduction in anxiety-depressive symptoms and work-related burnout with greater use of the chatbot. Three patients (8.8%) activated the suicide alert, and the research team intervened promptly with successful outcomes. Vickybot showed high subjective-UEIs, but low objective-UEIs (completion, adherence, compliance, and engagement). Feasibility was moderate.

CONCLUSIONS

The chatbot was useful in screening for the presence and severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms, and detecting suicidal risk. Potential effectiveness was shown in reducing work-related burnout, but not anxiety or depressive symptoms. Subjective perceptions of use contrasted with low objective-use metrics. Our results are promising but suggest the need to adapt and enhance the smartphone-based solution in order to improve engagement. Consensus on how to report UEIs and validate digital solutions, especially for chatbots, are required.

CLINICALTRIAL

Psychosocial and biological predictors of resident physician burnout

BACKGROUND

A high proportion of health professionals in training suffer from work-related stress and may develop a burnout syndrome.

OBJECTIVES

To study the incidence of burnout after the first year of residency in a teaching hospital and to identify baseline psychological, psychosocial work conditions, and biological risk factors.

METHODOLOGY

We assessed the following in a prospective cohort of residents at baseline (first month residence) and after 1 year: background factors (socio-demographics, psychiatric history), perceived stress score (Perceived Stress Scale), Maslach Burnout Inventory score, and psychosocial factors (Job Content Questionnaire). Blood samples were obtained to study serum cortisol, IL-6, and TNF-α concentrations. The cumulative incidence was modelled by multivariate log-binomial regression analysis.

RESULTS

We included 71 participants with a female majority (64.8%), age 26.4 (2.65) years, psychiatric history in 20%, and burnout in 13%. Among those without burnout initially (N = 59), it had developed by 1 year in 22% of residents. Increased job demand (RR = 1.259, 95%CI = 1.019-1.556, p = 0.033) and decreased cortisol levels (RR = 0.877, 95%CI = 0.778-0.989, p = 0.032) predicted burnout after 1 year of residency among medical trainees.

CONCLUSION

Burnout syndrome develops in 22% of residents by 1 year of training and can be predicted by increased work demands and decreased cortisol levels.

CoVITEST: A Fast and Reliable Method to Monitor Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Specific T Cells From Whole Blood

Cellular and humoral immune responses are essential for COVID-19 recovery and protection against SARS-CoV-2 reinfection. To date, the evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 immune protection has mainly focused on antibody detection, generally disregarding the cellular response, or placing it in a secondary position. This phenomenon may be explained by the complex nature of the assays needed to analyze cellular immunity compared with the technically simple and automated detection of antibodies. Nevertheless, a large body of evidence supports the relevance of the T cell's role in protection against SARS-CoV-2, especially in vulnerable individuals with a weakened immune system (such as the population over 65 and patients with immunodeficiencies). Here we propose to use CoVITEST (Covid19 anti-Viral Immunity based on T cells for Evaluation in a Simple Test), a fast, affordable and accessible in-house assay that, together with a diagnostic matrix, allows us to determine those patients who might be protected with SARS-CoV-2-reactive T cells. The method was established using healthy SARS-CoV-2-naïve donors pre- and post-vaccination (n=30), and further validated with convalescent COVID-19 donors (n=51) in a side-by-side comparison with the gold standard IFN-γ ELISpot. We demonstrated that our CoVITEST presented reliable and comparable results to those obtained with the ELISpot technique in a considerably shorter time (less than 8 hours). In conclusion, we present a simple but reliable assay to determine cellular immunity against SARS-CoV-2 that can be used routinely during this pandemic to monitor the immune status in vulnerable patients and thereby adjust their therapeutic approaches. This method might indeed help to optimize and improve decision-making protocols for re-vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, at least for some population subsets.

New interventions to increase influenza vaccination rates in health care workers

BACKGROUND

The most effective strategy for avoiding nosocomial influenza outbreaks is through vaccination of health care workers (HCWs). In Spain, HCW vaccination coverage rarely exceeds 25%. The objective of this study was to determine whether an active vaccination campaign promoting communication among HCWs increased influenza vaccination coverage rates and permitted a shorter campaign.

METHODS

This was a before-after trial, comparing free mobile vaccination teams without and with strategies promoting HCW involvement by means of weekly educational and promotional messages through electronic mail, including 2 prize draws for vaccinated HCWs and a Web page including pictures of vaccinated HCWs and all senior hospital management. Weekly coverages were publicized, the staff of mobile units was increased, and their routes in the hospital were advertised. The study population was >4500 HCWs (permanent and temporary staff) at a Spanish university hospital during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 influenza seasons.

RESULTS

Coverage was 23% (95% confidence interval [CI], 22.5%-24.9%) in the 2007-08 season and 37% (95% CI, 34.7%-37.4%) in 2008-09 season. The vaccination rate was highest in HCWs aged > or =65 years and in physicians. The weekly vaccination rates were significantly higher for the 2008-09 season compared with the 2007-08 season except for the first and third weeks; for example, in week 2, the rate was 1.7 HCWs per 100 persons-week (95% CI, 1.3-2.1) in 2007-08, compared with 3.7 HCWs per 100 persons-week (95% CI, 3.2-4.4) in 2009-09. Rate increases were concentrated in the first weeks of the program, with a peak occurring in week 3 during the 2007-08 season and in week 2 during the 2008-09 season.

CONCLUSION

This intervention improved influenza vaccination coverage of HCWs and allowed more rapid achievement of higher coverage.