Burnout and Associated Psychological Problems Among Teachers and the Impact of the Wellness4Teachers Supportive Text Messaging Program: Protocol for a Cross-sectional and Program Evaluation Study

BackgroundStress, burnout, anxiety, and depression continue to be a problem among teachers worldwide. It is not presently known what the prevalence and correlates for these psychological problems are among teachers in Alberta and Nova Scotia. It is also not known if a support...

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Main Authors: Belinda Agyapong, Yifeng Wei, Raquel da Luz Dias, Vincent Israel Opoku Agyapong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2022-07-01
Series:JMIR Research Protocols
Online Access:https://www.researchprotocols.org/2022/7/e37934
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author Belinda Agyapong
Yifeng Wei
Raquel da Luz Dias
Vincent Israel Opoku Agyapong
author_facet Belinda Agyapong
Yifeng Wei
Raquel da Luz Dias
Vincent Israel Opoku Agyapong
author_sort Belinda Agyapong
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundStress, burnout, anxiety, and depression continue to be a problem among teachers worldwide. It is not presently known what the prevalence and correlates for these psychological problems are among teachers in Alberta and Nova Scotia. It is also not known if a supportive text message program (Wellness4Teachers) would be effective in reducing stress, burnout, anxiety, or depression symptoms among teachers. ObjectiveThe goal of this study is to evaluate the prevalence and correlates of stress, burnout, symptoms of anxiety, depression, and low resilience among elementary and high school teachers in Alberta and Nova Scotia, Canada. It also aims to determine if daily supportive text messages can help reduce the prevalence of these psychological problems in teachers. MethodsThis is a cross-sessional mixed methods study with data to be collected from subscribers of Wellness4Teachers using a web-based survey at baseline (onset of text messaging), 6 weeks, the program’s midpoint (3 months), and end point (6 months). Teachers can subscribe to the Wellness4Teachers program by texting the keyword “TeachWell” to the program phone number. Outcome measures will be assessed using standardized rating scales and key informant interviews. Data will be analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS and thematic analysis using NVivo. ResultsThe results of this study are expected 24 months after program launch. It is expected that the prevalence of stress, burnout, anxiety, depression, and low resilience among teachers in Alberta and Nova Scotia would be comparable to those reported in other jurisdictions. It is also expected that factors such as gender, number of years teaching, grade of teaching, and school type (elementary vs high school) will have an association with burnout and other psychological disorders among teachers. Furthermore, it is expected that Wellness4Teachers will reduce the prevalence and severity of psychological problems in teachers, and subscriber satisfaction will be high. ConclusionsThe Wellness4Teachers project will provide key information regarding prevalence and correlates of common mental health conditions in teachers in Alberta and Nova Scotia, as well as the impact of daily supportive text messages on these mental health parameters. Information from this study will be useful for informing policy and decision-making concerning psychological interventions for schoolteachers.
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spelling doaj.art-6fad9e3ea3fc4ea98ba84bcd304af32f2023-08-28T22:43:33ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Research Protocols1929-07482022-07-01117e3793410.2196/37934Burnout and Associated Psychological Problems Among Teachers and the Impact of the Wellness4Teachers Supportive Text Messaging Program: Protocol for a Cross-sectional and Program Evaluation StudyBelinda Agyaponghttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7633-6529Yifeng Weihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2007-300XRaquel da Luz Diashttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6347-4620Vincent Israel Opoku Agyaponghttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2743-0372 BackgroundStress, burnout, anxiety, and depression continue to be a problem among teachers worldwide. It is not presently known what the prevalence and correlates for these psychological problems are among teachers in Alberta and Nova Scotia. It is also not known if a supportive text message program (Wellness4Teachers) would be effective in reducing stress, burnout, anxiety, or depression symptoms among teachers. ObjectiveThe goal of this study is to evaluate the prevalence and correlates of stress, burnout, symptoms of anxiety, depression, and low resilience among elementary and high school teachers in Alberta and Nova Scotia, Canada. It also aims to determine if daily supportive text messages can help reduce the prevalence of these psychological problems in teachers. MethodsThis is a cross-sessional mixed methods study with data to be collected from subscribers of Wellness4Teachers using a web-based survey at baseline (onset of text messaging), 6 weeks, the program’s midpoint (3 months), and end point (6 months). Teachers can subscribe to the Wellness4Teachers program by texting the keyword “TeachWell” to the program phone number. Outcome measures will be assessed using standardized rating scales and key informant interviews. Data will be analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS and thematic analysis using NVivo. ResultsThe results of this study are expected 24 months after program launch. It is expected that the prevalence of stress, burnout, anxiety, depression, and low resilience among teachers in Alberta and Nova Scotia would be comparable to those reported in other jurisdictions. It is also expected that factors such as gender, number of years teaching, grade of teaching, and school type (elementary vs high school) will have an association with burnout and other psychological disorders among teachers. Furthermore, it is expected that Wellness4Teachers will reduce the prevalence and severity of psychological problems in teachers, and subscriber satisfaction will be high. ConclusionsThe Wellness4Teachers project will provide key information regarding prevalence and correlates of common mental health conditions in teachers in Alberta and Nova Scotia, as well as the impact of daily supportive text messages on these mental health parameters. Information from this study will be useful for informing policy and decision-making concerning psychological interventions for schoolteachers.https://www.researchprotocols.org/2022/7/e37934
spellingShingle Belinda Agyapong
Yifeng Wei
Raquel da Luz Dias
Vincent Israel Opoku Agyapong
Burnout and Associated Psychological Problems Among Teachers and the Impact of the Wellness4Teachers Supportive Text Messaging Program: Protocol for a Cross-sectional and Program Evaluation Study
JMIR Research Protocols
title Burnout and Associated Psychological Problems Among Teachers and the Impact of the Wellness4Teachers Supportive Text Messaging Program: Protocol for a Cross-sectional and Program Evaluation Study
title_full Burnout and Associated Psychological Problems Among Teachers and the Impact of the Wellness4Teachers Supportive Text Messaging Program: Protocol for a Cross-sectional and Program Evaluation Study
title_fullStr Burnout and Associated Psychological Problems Among Teachers and the Impact of the Wellness4Teachers Supportive Text Messaging Program: Protocol for a Cross-sectional and Program Evaluation Study
title_full_unstemmed Burnout and Associated Psychological Problems Among Teachers and the Impact of the Wellness4Teachers Supportive Text Messaging Program: Protocol for a Cross-sectional and Program Evaluation Study
title_short Burnout and Associated Psychological Problems Among Teachers and the Impact of the Wellness4Teachers Supportive Text Messaging Program: Protocol for a Cross-sectional and Program Evaluation Study
title_sort burnout and associated psychological problems among teachers and the impact of the wellness4teachers supportive text messaging program protocol for a cross sectional and program evaluation study
url https://www.researchprotocols.org/2022/7/e37934
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