Nursing & Health

The mental health and wellbeing of health care workers has been uniquely challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic. Health care organizations may support the mental health of their members by offering tailored, evidence-based interventions and initiatives. METHODS: The American College of Lifestyle Medicine offered its members an online, 10-week, multicomponent mental health and well-being program (The Lift Project) for free, and extended the invitation to members from sister organizations associated with the Lifestyle Medicine Global Alliance. Individuals (n=1785) representing 39 countries registered for the program. Website meta-data was used to explore participant’ engagement with the program. One hundred forty-five participants responded to a post-program questionnaire that included Likert items and open-ended questions. RESULTS: The website hosting the program recorded 9,815 total visits over 10 weeks. Ninety-one percent of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the program supported their mental wellbeing, and there was a significant increase (X2=80.8, p< 0.01) in the proportion of respondents who rated their wellbeing higher after the program compared to at the start of the program. Ninety percent of respondents indicated that the program would have a long-term positive influence on their mental wellbeing, and 94% indicated they would recommend the program to a friend. Dominant themes from the open-ended questions in the post-program evaluation included: the participants liked the style of the video presentations, the structure of the program, content covered and the practical application of the content; the participants would have liked more time to engage with the program and would have enjoyed the provision of group meetings. CONCLUSION: Health care organizations may play an important role in supporting their members’ mental health and wellbeing by offering large-scale, evidence-based interventions. To optimize efficacy, the interventions should be well-designed, engaging, and potentially provide the opportunity for group connection and interaction.

Background/Aims: Chronic diseases (CDs) have reached epidemic proportions

in Pacific Island countries. Unhealthy lifestyle is one of the major

risk factors and lifestyle interventions have been shown to be efficacious

for primary, secondary and early tertiary prevention. However, there is a

paucity of evidence regarding effective community-based lifestyle interventions

in the South Pacific (SP). This study examined the effectiveness

of a contextualised version of the evidence-based CHIP intervention, utilising

the low-literacy REFLECT approach.

Methods: A 30-day cluster-RCT of 48 adults with elevated risk (waist

circumference _ 92 cm for men and _ 80 cm for women), in two rural

Fijian villages was conducted. Intervention participants (n ¼ 24) met three

times a week to receive the program. Control participants (n ¼ 24)

received only country-specific Ministry of Health literature. Outcome

assessments at baseline and 30 days included BMI, WC, blood pressure,

lipids and glucose. The extent of the change in each measures between

intervention and control villages was assessed using mixed betweenwithin

ANOVA.

Results: In 30 days, significant reductions were recorded for intervention

participant’s BMI (2%), SBP (10%), DBP (8%), T-cholesterol (6%), LDL (12%),

HDL (15%) and blood glucose (10%), while triglycerides increased 35%. Only

DBP (7%) and T-cholesterol (8%) decreased in the control group.

Conclusions: This is the first lifestyle intervention using the REFLECT

approach to target CDs in the SP. Significant reductions in selected CD risk

factors were observed in 30 days, being comparable to cohorts in first

world countries. Larger scale research is warranted to assess broader delivery

of this lifestyle intervention across the SP.

Funding source(s): N/A

This conference abstract discusses a low-fat plant-based diet and the effect it has on HDL levels