Professional BurnoutNCT07686666
Professional Contributions and Social Value in High-Acuity Medical Care Settings
An observational study of Professional Burnout and Moral Injury, run by Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital.
Trial summary
This study will explore experiences in high-acuity medical care settings, such as emergency, trauma, intensive care, and related clinical areas. These settings often involve heavy workloads, complex care decisions, teamwork, and communication among many people. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Professional Burnout, Moral Injury
- What is being tested?
- Experience in high-acuity clinical care settings
- How many people
- 1,350 participants
- Where
- No sites listed yet
- Study dates
- 25 Jun 2026to 31 Dec 2030
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Study population: The study population includes adults aged 18 years or older with work, care, caregiving, or system-related experience in high-acuity medical care settings. Participants may include healthcare professionals working in hospital-based emergency, trauma, intensive care, respiratory care, and related clinical areas; patients who have received care in these settings; important family members or main caregivers; and public-sector or emergency response personnel involved in emergency care, rescue, health, or social service systems.
Who may be able to join
- Adults aged 18 years or older who are able to understand the study information and provide informed consent or agreement to participate.
- Healthcare professionals working in hospital-based high-acuity clinical areas, such as emergency departments, trauma and critical care, intensive care units, respiratory care units, and related settings. Eligible participants may include physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, case managers, registry or data management personnel, and administrative staff involved in these areas.
- Patients who have received care in high-acuity medical care settings.
- Important family members or main caregivers who have accompanied, cared for, or supported decision-making for patients in high-acuity medical care settings.
- Public-sector or emergency response personnel involved in emergency care, rescue, health, or social service systems related to high-acuity medical care.
- For the first phase, healthcare professionals may be invited to complete questionnaires and/or participate in qualitative interviews. Patients, important family caregivers, and other relevant stakeholders may be invited to participate in qualitative interviews. For the second phase, eligible stakeholder groups may be invited to complete an anonymous online survey.
Who cannot join
- Individuals who decline to participate after receiving the study explanation.
- Individuals who do not meet the inclusion criteria.
- Individuals who are unable to understand the study information or complete the study procedures.
About this study
Official title: An Exploratory Study on Professional Contributions and Social Value in High-Acuity Medical Care Settings
This study will explore experiences in high-acuity medical care settings, such as emergency, trauma, intensive care, and related clinical areas. These settings often involve heavy workloads, complex care decisions, teamwork, and communication among many people.
The study will invite healthcare professionals, patients, important family caregivers, and other related people to share their experiences. Participants may complete questionnaires, take part in interviews, or complete a later online survey. The study will ask about work experiences, care experiences, communication, support needs, teamwork, and the value of professional contributions in these settings.
The goal of this study is to better understand important but less visible contributions in high-acuity medical care, such as teaching, coordination, communication, and support. The findings may help identify areas that can be considered in future research, hospital improvement, workforce development, and policy discussion.
Read the detailed description
Traditional healthcare policy and management often rely on return on investment (ROI), financial indicators, or other easily quantifiable performance measures to evaluate system outcomes. However, in high-acuity medical care settings such as emergency, trauma, intensive care, and complex critical care, the workload, professional responsibility, decision-making pressure, and team coordination required of healthcare professionals may not be fully reflected through conventional output or financial indicators.
Healthcare professionals in these settings often work under high pressure and high uncertainty, while also facing challenges related to professional development, knowledge transfer, and workforce retention. Some professional contributions, such as teaching, mentoring, cross-disciplinary collaboration, quality improvement, and informal coordination, may represent important but less visible forms of value. If these contributions are not adequately recognized or measured, they may influence professional identity, perceived value, role burden, and long-term workforce stability.
This observational, non-interventional study focuses on high-acuity medical care settings and their relevant stakeholders. The study aims to explore experiences and perceptions related to institutional processes, professional contributions, team interactions, care experiences, and perceived value. Social Return on Investment (SROI) will be used as a conceptual framework to explore value domains that may have public meaning or intrinsic importance but are not easily assigned a market price. Systemic CPR (Communication, Professional Engagement, Relationship) will be used as an observational concept to organize experience domains related to communication, professional engagement, and relationships within the care system.
The study will be conducted in two phases.
In the first phase, healthcare professionals working in high-acuity medical care settings will be invited to complete questionnaires related to work experience, burnout, and moral injury. The Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) and the Moral Injury Symptom Scale - Health Professionals Version (MISS-HP) will be used. Qualitative interviews will also be conducted to explore work experiences, care processes, professional contributions, team collaboration, institutional support, and perceived value. Patients, important family caregivers, and other relevant stakeholders may also be invited to participate in interviews to provide perspectives on care experiences and service processes.
Qualitative interviews will mainly be conducted as one-on-one in-depth interviews. If participants prefer a group format and the study team considers the topic and participant composition appropriate, focus group interviews with approximately 3 to 5 participants may be arranged. Participation is voluntary, and participants may decline or withdraw without affecting their employment rights, medical care, or other related rights.
In the second phase, the study team will develop an online anonymous survey based on the findings from the first phase. The survey will be used to collect broader perspectives from multiple stakeholder groups, including healthcare professionals, patients, important family caregivers, and relevant public-sector personnel involved in emergency and critical care systems.
All collected data will be analyzed in aggregate or de-identified form. The study does not aim to provide a final monetary valuation of a single closed intervention. Instead, it aims to identify relevant stakeholders, value domains, support needs, and potential indicators that may serve as a basis for future evaluation, institutional improvement, workforce development, and policy discussion in high-acuity medical care settings.
- Conditions
- Professional Burnout, Moral Injury
- Being tested
- Experience in high-acuity clinical care settings
- Keywords
- High-acuity medical care, Social value, SROI, Healthcare workforce, Workforce retention
- Medical subject headings
- Burnout, Professional, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Experience in high-acuity clinical care settingsOther
This is an observational exposure of interest. Participants are not assigned to any intervention by the study team. The study observes participants' work, care, caregiving, or system-related experiences in hospital-based high-acuity clinical areas, such as emergency departments, trauma care, intensive care units, respiratory care units, and related settings.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Professionals | Healthcare professionals working in high-acuity clinical areas within hospitals, including emergency departments, trauma care, intensive care units, respiratory care units, and related settings. This group may include physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, case managers, registry or data management personnel, and administrative staff involved in these areas. Receives: Other: Experience in high-acuity clinical care settings | |
| Patients | Adult patients who have received care in high-acuity medical care settings, such as emergency, trauma, intensive care, or related clinical areas. Receives: Other: Experience in high-acuity clinical care settings | |
| Important Family Caregivers | Important family members or main caregivers who have accompanied, cared for, or supported decision-making for patients in high-acuity medical care settings. Receives: Other: Experience in high-acuity clinical care settings | |
| Experience related to high-acuity care systems | Public-sector or emergency response personnel involved in emergency care, rescue, health, or social service systems related to high-acuity medical care. Receives: Other: Experience in high-acuity clinical care settings |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Number of preliminary social value domains with potential relevance for future indicator development identified in high-acuity medical care settings
Preliminary social value domains with potential relevance for future indicator development will be identified and summarized from qualitative interview data, relevant open-ended questionnaire or survey responses, and questionnaire or online survey data. Qualitative analysis will be used to summarize participants' experiences and perceived value in high-acuity medical care settings. Descriptive quantitative summaries of questionnaire and survey data may be used to support the interpretation of these domains. The measure will be the number of distinct preliminary social value domains identified as potentially relevant to future indicator development. Results will be reported as the number of domains and a de-identified narrative summary of each domain. The study may provide potential indicator domains or recommendations for future evaluation, but it will not establish definitive or validated indicators.
Measured: Through completion of qualitative interview, questionnaire, and survey data collection, up to 54 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted7 Jul 2026
- Study start25 Jun 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion31 Dec 2030 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Dec 2030 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Professional BurnoutStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial HospitalThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Enrolment
- 1,350 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07686666
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- KMUHIRB-F(I)-20260219
- Status last verified
- Jun 2026
- First submitted
- 23 Jun 2026
- Last updated
- 7 Jul 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: Individual participant data will not be shared. This study includes questionnaire, interview, and survey data related to work experiences, care experiences, institutional processes, and perceived value in high-acuity medical care settings. Some qualitative data may contain contextual information that could increase the risk of participant identification. Study results will be reported only in aggregate or de-identified summary form.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 7 Jul 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- An Exploratory Study on Professional Contributions and Social Value in High-Acuity Medical Care Settings
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07686666
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- KMUHIRB-F(I)-20260219
- Conditions
- Professional Burnout, Moral Injury
- Keywords
- High-acuity medical care, Social value, SROI, Healthcare workforce, Workforce retention
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 1,350 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial HospitalUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 25 Jun 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- 31 Dec 2030 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 31 Dec 2030 (estimated)
- First posted
- 7 Jul 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study will explore experiences in high-acuity medical care settings, such as emergency, trauma, intensive care, and related clinical areas. These settings often involve heavy workloads, complex care decisions, teamwork, and communication among many people.
The study will invite healthcare professionals, patients, important family caregivers, and other related people to share their experiences. Participants may complete questionnaires, take part in interviews, or complete a later online survey. The study will ask about work experiences, care experiences, communication, support needs, teamwork, and the value of professional contributions in these settings.
The goal of this study is to better understand important but less visible contributions in high-acuity medical care, such as teaching, coordination, communication, and support. The findings may help identify areas that can be considered in future research, hospital improvement, workforce development, and policy discussion.
Detailed description
Traditional healthcare policy and management often rely on return on investment (ROI), financial indicators, or other easily quantifiable performance measures to evaluate system outcomes. However, in high-acuity medical care settings such as emergency, trauma, intensive care, and complex critical care, the workload, professional responsibility, decision-making pressure, and team coordination required of healthcare professionals may not be fully reflected through conventional output or financial indicators.
Healthcare professionals in these settings often work under high pressure and high uncertainty, while also facing challenges related to professional development, knowledge transfer, and workforce retention. Some professional contributions, such as teaching, mentoring, cross-disciplinary collaboration, quality improvement, and informal coordination, may represent important but less visible forms of value. If these contributions are not adequately recognized or measured, they may influence professional identity, perceived value, role burden, and long-term workforce stability.
This observational, non-interventional study focuses on high-acuity medical care settings and their relevant stakeholders. The study aims to explore experiences and perceptions related to institutional processes, professional contributions, team interactions, care experiences, and perceived value. Social Return on Investment (SROI) will be used as a conceptual framework to explore value domains that may have public meaning or intrinsic importance but are not easily assigned a market price. Systemic CPR (Communication, Professional Engagement, Relationship) will be used as an observational concept to organize experience domains related to communication, professional engagement, and relationships within the care system.
The study will be conducted in two phases.
In the first phase, healthcare professionals working in high-acuity medical care settings will be invited to complete questionnaires related to work experience, burnout, and moral injury. The Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) and the Moral Injury Symptom Scale - Health Professionals Version (MISS-HP) will be used. Qualitative interviews will also be conducted to explore work experiences, care processes, professional contributions, team collaboration, institutional support, and perceived value. Patients, important family caregivers, and other relevant stakeholders may also be invited to participate in interviews to provide perspectives on care experiences and service processes.
Qualitative interviews will mainly be conducted as one-on-one in-depth interviews. If participants prefer a group format and the study team considers the topic and participant composition appropriate, focus group interviews with approximately 3 to 5 participants may be arranged. Participation is voluntary, and participants may decline or withdraw without affecting their employment rights, medical care, or other related rights.
In the second phase, the study team will develop an online anonymous survey based on the findings from the first phase. The survey will be used to collect broader perspectives from multiple stakeholder groups, including healthcare professionals, patients, important family caregivers, and relevant public-sector personnel involved in emergency and critical care systems.
All collected data will be analyzed in aggregate or de-identified form. The study does not aim to provide a final monetary valuation of a single closed intervention. Instead, it aims to identify relevant stakeholders, value domains, support needs, and potential indicators that may serve as a basis for future evaluation, institutional improvement, workforce development, and policy discussion in high-acuity medical care settings.
Study design
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Number of arms
- 4
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Professionals | – | Other: Experience in high-acuity clinical care settingsHealthcare professionals working in high-acuity clinical areas within hospitals, including emergency departments, trauma care, intensive care units, respiratory care units, and related settings. This group may include physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, case managers, registry or data management personnel, and administrative staff involved in these areas. |
| Patients | – | Other: Experience in high-acuity clinical care settingsAdult patients who have received care in high-acuity medical care settings, such as emergency, trauma, intensive care, or related clinical areas. |
| Important Family Caregivers | – | Other: Experience in high-acuity clinical care settingsImportant family members or main caregivers who have accompanied, cared for, or supported decision-making for patients in high-acuity medical care settings. |
| Experience related to high-acuity care systems | – | Other: Experience in high-acuity clinical care settingsPublic-sector or emergency response personnel involved in emergency care, rescue, health, or social service systems related to high-acuity medical care. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
- Study population
- The study population includes adults aged 18 years or older with work, care, caregiving, or system-related experience in high-acuity medical care settings. Participants may include healthcare professionals working in hospital-based emergency, trauma, intensive care, respiratory care, and related clinical areas; patients who have received care in these settings; important family members or main caregivers; and public-sector or emergency response personnel involved in emergency care, rescue, health, or social service systems.
Key inclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Adults aged 18 years or older who are able to understand the study information and provide informed consent or agreement to participate.
- Healthcare professionals working in hospital-based high-acuity clinical areas, such as emergency departments, trauma and critical care, intensive care units, respiratory care units, and related settings. Eligible participants may include physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, case managers, registry or data management personnel, and administrative staff involved in these areas.
- Patients who have received care in high-acuity medical care settings.
- Important family members or main caregivers who have accompanied, cared for, or supported decision-making for patients in high-acuity medical care settings.
- Public-sector or emergency response personnel involved in emergency care, rescue, health, or social service systems related to high-acuity medical care.
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Individuals who decline to participate after receiving the study explanation.
- Individuals who do not meet the inclusion criteria.
- Individuals who are unable to understand the study information or complete the study procedures.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Experience in high-acuity clinical care settingsThis is an observational exposure of interest. Participants are not assigned to any intervention by the study team. The study observes participants' work, care, caregiving, or system-related experiences in hospital-based high-acuity clinical areas, such as emergency departments, trauma care, intensive care units, respiratory care units, and related settings. | Other | Experience related to high-acuity care systems, Healthcare Professionals, Important Family Caregivers, Patients |
Primary outcome
Number of preliminary social value domains with potential relevance for future indicator development identified in high-acuity medical care settings
Time frame: Through completion of qualitative interview, questionnaire, and survey data collection, up to 54 months
Preliminary social value domains with potential relevance for future indicator development will be identified and summarized from qualitative interview data, relevant open-ended questionnaire or survey responses, and questionnaire or online survey data. Qualitative analysis will be used to summarize participants' experiences and perceived value in high-acuity medical care settings. Descriptive quantitative summaries of questionnaire and survey data may be used to support the interpretation of these domains. The measure will be the number of distinct preliminary social value domains identified as potentially relevant to future indicator development. Results will be reported as the number of domains and a de-identified narrative summary of each domain. The study may provide potential indicator domains or recommendations for future evaluation, but it will not establish definitive or validated indicators.
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 7 Jul 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. Individual participant data will not be shared. This study includes questionnaire, interview, and survey data related to work experiences, care experiences, institutional processes, and perceived value in high-acuity medical care settings. Some qualitative data may contain contextual information that could increase the risk of participant identification. Study results will be reported only in aggregate or de-identified summary form.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Professional Burnout and Moral Injury, run by Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 7 Jul 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Number of preliminary social value domains with potential relevance for future indicator development identified in high-acuity medical care settings (time frame: Through completion of qualitative interview, questionnaire, and survey data collection, up to 54 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 7 Jul 2026.