BRiC study update: June 2020 - Update No. 2

BRiC Study - Burnout and Resilience in Organ Donation Coordinators

June 2020 - Update No. 2

Background

Little is known about the true extent of burnout and compassion fatigue among organ donation coordinators worldwide. Very little is known about how it may impact coordinators in Canada. This project proposes innovative ways of dealing with burnout, to identify its causes and intervene to support teams and avoid losing experienced and exceptional people. 

Learn more about this project here.

About the BRiC study

The BRIC study is a three-phase study, focused on burnout and resilience in coordinators. Through BRIC we are taking a systematic approach to understand and intervene in the issue of burnout among organ and tissue donor coordinators in Canada.

Phases

              

BRiC Phase I  – Scoping review milestones

Timeline

BRiC Phase II – Mixed-methods study

Objectives: To seek guidance for the identification of the best validated quantitative instruments for a survey (part of the quantitative piece of the study), to develop the qualitative approach portion of the study, and to consult ODOs to identify the best approaches for data collection.
Status: We are currently developing a mixed-method study to identify burnout and compassion fatigue among OTDCs and further understand their perceptions about the issue. We will start re-engaging collaborators. 

If you would like to know more and potentially collaborate with this study, please contact our research team at vsilvaesilva@cheo.on.ca or ken.lotherington@blood.ca.

A successful working meeting 

On February 15, we had the pleasure to host a day of deep and meaningful discussions about burnout and compassion fatigue among organ and tissue donation coordinators. Organ donor coordinators and program coordinators from five Canadian ODOs (Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Manitoba) attended the meeting. There were three different sections: 

  1. Participants were invited to share aspects of their team composition and ODO structures.
  2. Our team presented the preliminary results of the scoping review and the next phases of BRiC project.
  3. Two focus groups were held: 1) to discuss the relevance of the topic for ODOs/OTDCS, common emotional challenges and potential sources of documents for inclusion in the scoping review; and 2) to discuss and identify the best approaches for BRiC phases two (data collection) and three (intervention).

Thank you to everyone who participated in this important work. It was greatly valuable to discuss these topics with you face to face. The results of the focus groups will be published soon.

 

Additional projects related to BRiC

Title: Quality improvement initiative evaluation 
Objective: A qualitative study to evaluate an intervention implemented in a western province of Canada on team cohesion and communication among organ and tissue donation coordinators and if there were any perceived changes in the level of burnout/resilience.
Status: The study received all approvals, and we anticipate the finished work to be ready to publish by July 2020.  

Title: Opinion paper(s)
Objective: Canadian organ and tissue donation coordinators voiced their concerns and perceptions about the issue of burnout and emerging issues related to those topics. An opinion paper was written in collaboration with coordinators from five provinces and with international collaborators.
Status: This paper will be submitted for publication in the journal Transplantation  in June 2020.
A second opinion paper is planned for the coming months in which we will explore further emerging issues related to burnout and compassion fatigue, including coordinators’ perception of how COVID-19 has affected their work and lives.  

 Core research team

The BRiC Study Core research team

If you would like to know more and potentially collaborate with this study, please contact our research team at vsilvaesilva@cheo.on.ca or ken.lotherington@blood.ca.

 

PROJECT UPDATES