Complementary Medicine for Treating Emotional Exhaustion and Burnout of Frontline Healthcare Providers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Burnout is prevalent among healthcare providers and characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonal-ization, and reduced personal accomplishment. The coronavi-rus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic exacerbated burnout due to increased workloads, emotional strain, and heightened risk. Complementary medicine (CAM) interventions like shiat-su massage and reflexology have been explored as potential to mitigate burnout, particularly pandemic-related stress. Objectives: To assess the efficacy of CAM interventions for alleviating burnout in healthcare providers treating COVID-19 patients during 2022, when the Delta variant was prevalent. Methods: This prospective observational study included 86 healthcare providers at Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Campus. Workers were divided into two groups: an intervention group participating in CAM activities and a control group. Participant burnout and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were evaluated using the Maslach Burnout Inventory and General Anxiety Disorder 7 at baseline and at one day and one week post-intervention. Results: The CAM group demonstrated significant reduction in burnout scores, primarily due to an enhanced sense of accomplishment (P = 0.023), with enduring effects observed after one week, although not reaching statistical significance (P= 0.078). There was no observed difference in PTSD scores between the groups (P = 0.28). Conclusions: The study reveals potential benefits of CAM interventions in reducing burnout symptoms among healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings underscore the importance of integrating such interventions to address the mental well-being of healthcare providers, especially in high-stress environments. Further randomized controlled trials with diverse samples and extended follow-up are recommended to validate and explore these initial findings.