Protected Time for Self-Care for Veterans Health Administration Employees

• Published in: Journal of occupational and environmental medicine Vol. 66; no. 9; p. 779
• Main Authors: Schult, Tamara M, Finnell, John S, Gray, Charles, Reddy, Kavitha P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.09.2024
• Subjects: Adult; Feasibility Studies; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Occupational Health; Resilience, Psychological; Self Care; Self Efficacy; Surveys and Questionnaires; Time Factors; United States; United States Department of Veterans Affairs; Workload; United States
• ISSN: 1536-5948
• DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003159

Employee Whole Health (EWH) empowers VA employees to take charge of their well-being by integrating self-care into their workday, but employees lack time to participate. Employees at three VA medical centers participated in a 12-month feasibility cohort study to protect 60 minutes of time per week for self-care. Questionnaire data were collected at three time points and qualitative data at two time points. Pilot offerings included education and complementary and integrative health modalities for well-being. Employees enrolled spring 2021 ( n = 312). Complete-case regression analyses indicated significant improvements in wellness culture, resiliency, self-efficacy, perceived stress, and flourishing at 12 months. Multiple imputation analyses confirmed improvements except for self-efficacy. Qualitative findings supported quantitative findings. Providing protected time for self-care was feasible and supported improvements in well-being. However, high workload was identified as an ongoing barrier to participation.