Practising what we preach: The implementation of a health and wellness intervention for healthcare employees
Abstract
Although healthcare professionals are dedicated to the health of others, they often experience high stress, burnout and low levels of personal wellness. Demanding workloads, long hours and a fast-paced environment can prevent hospital staff from prioritising their own health. This study evaluates the outcomes of a 45-day health and wellness intervention specifically designed for healthcare employees. Using a mixed-methods pre/post design, data was collected over two months from a snowball sample of over 236 participants, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other hospital staff. Participants completed self-assessments before and after the intervention to evaluate overall health perceptions, and their daily health habits were tracked through an online platform. A one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a statistically significant improvement in self-reported health post-intervention (p < .01). Participants also reported increased water intake, higher energy levels and improved dietary habits, including eating more fruits and vegetables. These findings highlight the potential for workplace wellness programmes to meaningfully improve the well-being of healthcare employees. The study offers practical recommendations for health systems to design and implement effective interventions and to identify common pitfalls to avoid. This study contributes to the growing body of evidence on organisational health promotion and provides directions for future research on sustaining employee wellness in high-stress healthcare environments. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
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Author's Biography
Kimberly Mccarthy , PhD, is an associate professor of management at California State University San Marcos, where she teaches and conducts research in the areas of organisational behaviour, conflict management and workplace communication. Her work explores how social and interpersonal processes in the workplace, such as incivility, trust and communication dynamics, are influenced by management practices, leadership behaviours and organisational culture. Dr McCarthy holds a PhD in organisational behaviour from the University of California, Irvine, and an MBA from Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska. Her research focuses on the realities of the employee experience, including how conflict is navigated, how wellness is promoted and how civility is fostered in organisations. Outside work, she enjoys hiking, playing tennis and travelling with her family.
Trang Dinh-Noonan , MSN, RN, is an Inpatient Medical Oncology Nurse at Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla, California, where she also serves as a coach and mentor to new graduate nurses. With a master’s degree in nursing leadership from Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, Arizona, Trang is passionate about fostering a supportive and healthy work culture for healthcare professionals. She is the creator of a health and wellness programme designed specifically for nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers. Through a customised app that gamifies wellness, the programme aims to reduce burnout, increase job satisfaction and build camaraderie across healthcare teams by promoting nutrition, physical activity, mental well-being and social connection. Outside her professional commitments, Trang enjoys staying active through workouts, hiking, running and snowboarding, and cherishes quality time with her family.
Caitlynn Jesse has been a registered nurse since 2015. Over the course of 9 years in medical oncology, she progressed from bedside care to leadership roles. Recently, she has taken on a Nurse Navigator position in haematology−oncology within an outpatient care setting. Her educational background includes a master of science in nursing with a leadership specialisation from Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, Arizona, and she holds a national certification in Medical-Surgical Nursing.
Paige Sinclair earned both her bachelor’s and master’s in nursing science from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, where she served as a peer crisis counsellor for student-athletes and competed as a division-one track athlete. Her minor studies were focused on global and multicultural healthcare. In addition to her nursing credentials, she holds an Executive MBA from Quantic School of Business & Technology. Trained as a registered nurse, Sinclair has a background in oncology and bone marrow transplantation, infusion therapy, as well as phase 1−4 clinical trials, and has served in progressive nursing leadership roles. She is passionate about performance improvement to drive clinical and customer excellence through the integration of technology, which has led to her most recent role overseeing acute care informatics for a large academic health system. She brings expertise in lean six sigma, quality and regulatory compliance, and patient experience to drive performance outcomes, mitigate risks and enhance safety for patient and staff.
Samantha Spierling Bagsic Dr Samantha Spierling Bagsic received her bachelor of science in cell and molecular biology and her master of science in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan. She earned her doctor of philosophy in biological sciences from The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California. She currently serves as a manager and research scientist at Scripps Health, where she contributes to the planning and evaluation of forthcoming and ongoing NIH-funded and investigator-initiated research studies. Dr Bagsic is also a founding member of the Scripps Hub Academic Research Core (SHARC) within the Department of Research & Development, where she leads a team of biostatisticians and provides research support in study design, data analysis, presentation and education across the entire Scripps Health system.
Citation
Mccarthy, Kimberly, Dinh-Noonan, Trang, Jesse, Caitlynn, Sinclair, Paige and Bagsic, Samantha Spierling (2025, December 1). Practising what we preach: The implementation of a health and wellness intervention for healthcare employees. In the Management in Healthcare: A Peer-Reviewed Journal, Volume 10, Issue 2. https://doi.org/10.69554/DLRE3120.Publications LLP