A Character‑Strengths Based Coaching Program to Reduce Work Stress of Rural Community Health Workers in Madhya Pradesh, India: Protocol for a Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

40 Pages Posted: 3 Jun 2024

See all articles by Ameya Bondre

Ameya Bondre

Sangath

Azaz Khan

Sangath

Abhishek Singh

Sangath

Spriha Singh

Sangath

Ritu Shrivastava

Sangath

Narendra Verma

Sangath

Aashish Ranjan

Sangath

Jyotsna Agrawal

National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences

Seema Mehrotra

National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences

Rahul Shidhaye

Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences

Anant Bhan

Sangath

John Naslund

Harvard University - Department of Global Health and Social Medicine

Steve D. Hollon

Vanderbilt University

Deepak Tugnawat

Sangath

Abstract

Background: There is scarce knowledge on the use of structured positive psychology interventions for reducing work-stress and improving wellbeing of rural community health workers in India, particularly the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) who are village-level (resident, female, incentivised) lay health workers. This trial will test the effectiveness of a ‘character-strengths’ based coaching intervention compared to routine supervision on wellbeing (‘authentic happiness’) of ASHAs.Methods: This protocol is for a single-blind, parallel group randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of a five-day residential workshop focusing on the use of character-strengths and subsequent 8- to 10-week remote telephonic coaching (weekly) to individually support ASHAs to improve their wellbeing, against routine health system support. The arms are intervention added to routine ASHA supervision (weekly, by the ASHA supervisor) and routine supervision alone (control arm). The target sample comprises 330 rural ASHAs in Madhya Pradesh, India. The primary outcome of mean Authentic Happiness Inventory (AHI) scores will be compared between arms at 3-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes will include an assessment of ASHA’s self-reported affect, self-efficacy, flourishing, burnout, motivation, physical health symptoms, quality of life, self-expressed character-strengths, and routine work performance indicators, and the consequent patient-level outcomes [e.g., service satisfaction and depression remission rates after receiving brief psychological treatment by trained ASHAs]. We will also evaluate the costs of developing and delivering the intervention.Discussion: This trial will determine whether a character-strengths based coaching intervention is an effective and scalable approach for reducing work-stress and improving wellbeing of rural ASHAs in low-resource settings.

Note:
Trial Registration Details: NCT06013488.

Funding Information: This work was supported by the Templeton World Charity Foundation, Nassau, Bahamas (Grant number: TWCF0635).

Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that there are no known conflicts of interest associated with this publication and there has been no significant financial support for this work that could have influenced its outcome.

Ethics Approval Statement: Institutional (ethics) Review Board at Sangath, India approved all study procedures. All participants provided written informed consent for the pilot study activities.

Keywords: character strengths, community health workers, work stress, randomized controlled trial, positive psychology

Suggested Citation

Bondre, Ameya and Khan, Azaz and Singh, Abhishek and Singh, Spriha and Shrivastava, Ritu and Verma, Narendra and Ranjan, Aashish and Agrawal, Jyotsna and Mehrotra, Seema and Shidhaye, Rahul and Bhan, Anant and Naslund, John and Hollon, Steve D. and Tugnawat, Deepak, A Character‑Strengths Based Coaching Program to Reduce Work Stress of Rural Community Health Workers in Madhya Pradesh, India: Protocol for a Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4846225 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4846225

Ameya Bondre (Contact Author)

Sangath ( email )

Goa
India

Azaz Khan

Sangath ( email )

Goa
India

Abhishek Singh

Sangath ( email )

Goa
India

Spriha Singh

Sangath ( email )

Goa
India

Ritu Shrivastava

Sangath ( email )

Goa
India

Narendra Verma

Sangath ( email )

Goa
India

Aashish Ranjan

Sangath ( email )

Goa
India

Jyotsna Agrawal

National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences ( email )

Seema Mehrotra

National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences ( email )

Hosur Road
BANGALORE, 560029
India

Rahul Shidhaye

Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences ( email )

Physiology Department Tal.Rahata , Dist Ahmednager
Loni, MA 413736
India

Anant Bhan

Sangath ( email )

Goa
India

John Naslund

Harvard University - Department of Global Health and Social Medicine ( email )

Steve D. Hollon

Vanderbilt University ( email )

Deepak Tugnawat

Sangath ( email )

Goa
India

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