Abstract
Background: Healthcare professionals (HCPs) are prepared to care for illness and experience stressful situations including trauma and death. However, the overwhelming conditions during and after the pandemic can put many HCPs at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and burnout. Previous research has reported a prevalence of PTSD among HCPs between 21.5% and 38% (Greene et al., 2021; Yan et al., 2021). In addition, 48% of ICU nurses experienced PTSD (Sanchez, Simon, & Ford, 2019). Furthermore, past research has indicated burnout levels of 55% to 86% among HCPs. It is essential that resources are provided for HCPs to cope with burnout and improve quality of life. This can improve self-care, and the care HCPs provide, and may lead to a decrease in HCPs leaving the profession.
Methods: This study implements a pre-post-interventional study design to explore the effect of equine-assisted services (EAS) on subjective distress, traumatic stress, job burnout, anxiety, and resiliency among HCPs. 100 HCPs including nurses, patient care assistants, medical doctors, social workers, mental health technicians, and emergency room technicians completed the study intervention consisting of Painting the Horses and Life’s Little Obstacles, during a scheduled visit at the Reining Strength Therapeutic Horsemanship. Outcomes (subjective distress, traumatic stress, job burnout, anxiety, and resiliency) were assessed using self-reported questionnaires at baseline prior to the intervention and post-intervention. Paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare the mean scores between pre-and post-intervention for continuous variables and McNemar’s test for discrete variables.
Results: The interventions had a significant effect on reducing coronavirus-related anxiety in HCPs from 1 to 0 (p=< 0.02), pre- to post-intervention. There was also a significant decrease in job burnout from 31.6 (1.83) to 26.7 (1.94) (p=< 0.001) and secondary traumatic stress from 17.6 (1.12) to 14.2 (1.06) (p = < 0.001), pre-intervention to post-intervention, respectively. In addition, there was a significant decrease in mean subjective distress from 32.4 (2.01) to 25.8 (2.09) (p=< 0.001). Average resiliency scores increased significantly from 15.2 (0.30) to 16.6 (0.29) (=< 0.001) indicating overall improvement.
Conclusion: This research was one of the first to explore the use of EAS for HCPs. The interventions were effective in reducing subjective distress, traumatic stress, job burnout, anxiety, and showed an improvement in participants’ resiliency scores. Findings will inform the implementation of a large-scale comparative effectiveness trial evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of EAS for HCPs. Providing supportive interventions within the institute can stimulate open communication between employees and prevent feelings of distress and burnout.
Notes
References:
Adams, R. E., Boscarino, J. A., & Figley, C. R. (2006). Compassion fatigue and psychological distress among social workers: a validation study. The American journal of orthopsychiatry, 76(1), 103–108. https://doi.org/10.1037/0002-9432.76.1.103
Horowitz, M. Wilner, N. & Alvarez, W. (1979). Impact of Event Scale: A measure of subjective stress. Psychosomatic Medicine, 41, 209-218.
Lee S. A. (2020). Coronavirus Anxiety Scale: A brief mental health screener for COVID-19 related anxiety. Death studies, 44(7), 393–401. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2020.1748481
Mealer M, Burnham EL, Goode CJ, Rothbaum B, Moss M. The prevalence and impact of post traumatic stress disorder and burnout syndrome in nurses. Depress Anxiety. 2009;26(12):1118-26. doi: 10.1002/da.20631. PMID: 19918928; PMCID: PMC2919801.
Reagan, 2022. How to Promote Positive Mental Health for Healthcare Workers. Stress in Healthcare Workers | Guidance on Nurses PTSD (highspeedtraining.co.uk)
Sanchez, M., Simon, A., & Ford, D. (2019). PTSD in Tx ICU Nurses. Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, 38(4), 93-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healun.2019.01.217
Sinclair, V. G., & Wallston, K.A. (2004). The development and psychometric evaluation of the Brief Resilient Coping Scale. Assessment, 11 (1), 94-101. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14994958
Xiao, X., Zhu, X., Fu, S., Hu, Y., Li, X., & Xiao, J. (2020). Psychological impact of healthcare workers in China during COVID-19 pneumonia epidemic: A multi-center cross-sectional survey investigation. Journal of affective disorders, 274, 405–410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.05.081
Yan, H., Ding, Y., & Guo, W. (2021). Mental Health of Medical Staff during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Psychosomatic medicine, 83(4), 387–396.
Greene, T., Harju-Seppänen, J., Adeniji, M., Steel, C., Grey, N., Brewin, C. R., Bloomfield, M. A., & Billings, J. (2021). Predictors and rates of PTSD, depression and anxiety in UK frontline health and social care workers during COVID-19. European journal of psychotraumatology, 12(1), 1882781. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.1882781
Sigma Membership
Phi
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Equine-Assisted Therapy, Hardiness, Health Personnel -- Psychosocial Factors, Professional Burnout, Occupational Stress
Recommended Citation
Shani, Pinky; Espinosa, Laura A.; and Yarbrough, Rebecca, "Therapeutic Horsemanship for the Caregiver: Overview of Results" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 102.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2024/presentations_2024/102
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2024
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All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-03-03
Therapeutic Horsemanship for the Caregiver: Overview of Results
Washington, DC, USA
Background: Healthcare professionals (HCPs) are prepared to care for illness and experience stressful situations including trauma and death. However, the overwhelming conditions during and after the pandemic can put many HCPs at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and burnout. Previous research has reported a prevalence of PTSD among HCPs between 21.5% and 38% (Greene et al., 2021; Yan et al., 2021). In addition, 48% of ICU nurses experienced PTSD (Sanchez, Simon, & Ford, 2019). Furthermore, past research has indicated burnout levels of 55% to 86% among HCPs. It is essential that resources are provided for HCPs to cope with burnout and improve quality of life. This can improve self-care, and the care HCPs provide, and may lead to a decrease in HCPs leaving the profession.
Methods: This study implements a pre-post-interventional study design to explore the effect of equine-assisted services (EAS) on subjective distress, traumatic stress, job burnout, anxiety, and resiliency among HCPs. 100 HCPs including nurses, patient care assistants, medical doctors, social workers, mental health technicians, and emergency room technicians completed the study intervention consisting of Painting the Horses and Life’s Little Obstacles, during a scheduled visit at the Reining Strength Therapeutic Horsemanship. Outcomes (subjective distress, traumatic stress, job burnout, anxiety, and resiliency) were assessed using self-reported questionnaires at baseline prior to the intervention and post-intervention. Paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare the mean scores between pre-and post-intervention for continuous variables and McNemar’s test for discrete variables.
Results: The interventions had a significant effect on reducing coronavirus-related anxiety in HCPs from 1 to 0 (p=< 0.02), pre- to post-intervention. There was also a significant decrease in job burnout from 31.6 (1.83) to 26.7 (1.94) (p=< 0.001) and secondary traumatic stress from 17.6 (1.12) to 14.2 (1.06) (p = < 0.001), pre-intervention to post-intervention, respectively. In addition, there was a significant decrease in mean subjective distress from 32.4 (2.01) to 25.8 (2.09) (p=< 0.001). Average resiliency scores increased significantly from 15.2 (0.30) to 16.6 (0.29) (=< 0.001) indicating overall improvement.
Conclusion: This research was one of the first to explore the use of EAS for HCPs. The interventions were effective in reducing subjective distress, traumatic stress, job burnout, anxiety, and showed an improvement in participants’ resiliency scores. Findings will inform the implementation of a large-scale comparative effectiveness trial evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of EAS for HCPs. Providing supportive interventions within the institute can stimulate open communication between employees and prevent feelings of distress and burnout.
Description
This study implements a pre-post interventional study exploring the effect of equine-assisted services on stress, burnout, and resiliency among healthcare professionals. It will highlight the results and implementation of interventions for healthcare leaders. By improving the care provided to healthcare professionals, we can potentially improve the care provided to patients.