The Sequel to the Prequel:
A Novel and Cautious Approach to Curating Mindful Child Welfare Workers and Addressing the Stress Phenomenon within England’s Child Protection System
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the Be Mindful program (BMP), an online-based mindful intervention, is a feasible, acceptable, and potentially effective approach to prevent and/or reduce stress among Children and Families Social Workers (CAFSWs) in England, the United Kingdom. The proposed study aims to better understand the feasibility of online recruitment of CAFSWs using social media platforms.
Specific Aims
- To evaluate the effectiveness (i.e., success) of recruiting CAFSWs using online advertisements on social media platforms
- To assess if the BMP is a feasible short-term intervention to use with CAFSWs in England
- To examine whether BMP participants’ outcomes differ by individual demographics and work characteristics
- To explore the experiences of BMP participation that would make for a more suitable intervention for CAFSWs
Be Mindful Online:
The Online Program/Intervention
Platform & Description: Be Mindful Online
“Be Mindful is the original and only digital course of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). NHS [National Health Service] assessed and approved, and commissioned for nearly a decade, the accessible web-based course is proven effective by numerous published scientific research studies. Be Mindful significantly reduces levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, delivering often life-changing results for participants.”
Duration: If you choose to participate, the expectation is that you complete the course as intended (i.e., 4-weeks); however, you are provided with a lifetime membership with bemindfulonline.com. Please note: For membership questions, you will need to contact Wellmind Health. For research related questions, please contact the research team.
You can access course details in the Be Mindful course introduction pack.
Informed Consent
A full explanation of study and tasks is provided in the online consent form. Click here to begin.
Week 5: (optional) Interviews
If you expressed an interest in taking part in an interview with a member of the research team, you may be contacted by email to arrange a time and date. This will occur 4-weeks after you were sent your account information for the Be Mindful platform.
Phase I: Eligibility Screening, Recruitment Process, Review & Invitation to Participate
Step 1: Eligibility Survey
The brief eligibility survey determines whether you are an appropriate participants for this study. You access the start of the eligibility survey here. The eligibility survey is estimated to take 2-6 minutes to complete.
Step 2: Providing Informed Consent
Please click here to request a copy of the informed consent form (participants). Alternatively, the informed consent information and form is available following the brief eligibility screening questionnaire, available here.
Step 3: Participants Boarding Survey
The boarding survey is broken into five sections. It will take approximately 25-30 minutes to complete. If you appear to be eligible for this study, you will be automatically directed to it from the eligibility survey.
Step 4: Review & Invitation to Participate
A member of the research team will send you a link to the study if you are determined to be a CAFSW in England. This will typically be within 1-72 hours (excluding certain certain public holidays and weekends). Please add [email protected] to your contact list to avoid the message ending up to your ‘spam’ or ‘junk’ mail. This is based on the information you provided in steps: 1-3.
If you are not determined valid, your responses will be deleted. Regardless of the outcomes, you will be notified by a member of the research team. You will also have the opportunity to contact the research team if you believe a mistake has been made.
Please see Figure 1 (below) for a visualization of the screening, recruitment, and invitation process.
Step 5: Participant in the Study
You will be sent your login information to the mindfulness-based intervention (i.e., Be Mindful Online). Welcome to the study!
Figure 1: Visualization of the Recruitment, Informed Consent, and Study Invitation Process
Phase II: Follow-up Survey (Week 5)
Post-Intervention Survey
You will be emailed a post-intervention survey four weeks after starting the Be Mindful program (BMP). It does not matter how far you have progressed with the (BMP). The post intervention survey is expected to take 2-5 minutes. Your responses are invaluable.
Post-intervention Survey & Interview Opt-In
All semi-structured interviews with purposely sampled participants will be conducted using a secure online platform (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams). Interviews invites will be sent out via email. The purpose of the interview is to understand your experience of an online mindfulness-based intervention. Interviews are expected to last for 45-60 minutes.
Potential Risks and Benefits to Participants
Risks
There is no major risk (e.g., physical, psychological) or harm anticipated for individuals that participate in this research study. Please see The Ohio State University Consent to Participate in Research (protocol #2021B0187) for more information.
Benefits
As a result of taking part in this research study, participants may gain knowledge and skills in terms of mindfulness (e.g., appraisal awareness), coping strategies (e.g., adopting engaging behaviors) to prevent and/or reduce stress, and lifetime access to the Be Mindful Program.
Research Team
- Tom Gregoire, Ph.D., MSW (Primary Investigator), The Ohio State University, College of Social Work, Dean
- Oliver W. J. Beer, MSc, (Co-Investigator), The Ohio State University, College of Social Work, Ph.D. Candidate
See the Research Team page for more information.
Ethical Approval
This research was approved by the Institutional Review Board (#2021B0187), The Ohio State University.
Additional Information
Please see the About or Research Team page for additional study and contact information.