Evidence Behindthe App
Get Vitals is built on a foundation of rigorous research and evidence based practices. Our platform combines behavioral science, clinical insights, and real world validation to deliver meaningful support for healthcare professionals.
Scientific Foundation
Get Vitals is grounded in decades of research on healthcare worker burnout, stress management, and behavioral interventions. Our approach is informed by studies from leading institutions and validated through clinical practice.
We've synthesized findings from psychology, nursing research, and organizational behavior to create interventions that are both scientifically sound and practically effective for the unique challenges healthcare workers face.
Download AppBehavioral Science
Evidence based techniques for stress reduction, emotional regulation, and emotional recovery specifically adapted for healthcare environments.
Clinical Research
Interventions informed by studies involving healthcare professionals and related populations, supporting their relevance and effectiveness.
Real-World Validation
Continuous evaluation and refinement based on feedback from healthcare workers and organizational outcomes.
Key Research Studies
Our platform is built on four foundational studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of evidence-based interventions for healthcare worker wellbeing.
Harvard People Lab
Asynchronous Peer Advice RCT
Study: Reducing Burnout and Resignations among Frontline Workers: A Field Experiment (Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 2022)
What they did: Over six weeks, 911 dispatchers across nine U.S. cities received weekly emails prompting them to write anonymous peer-advice messages to colleagues.
Results:
- • Burnout scores dropped by 0.4 standard deviations (~8 points)
- • Resignations fell by over 50% in the four months following the intervention
Why it matters: Shows powerful burnout reduction through asynchronous, writing-based peer support, with no need for in-person or live virtual sessions. Mechanism: writing and reading peer stories fosters belonging and cognitive reframing.
Additional supporting studies:
- • JAMA Network Open (2023): NICU nurses cluster‑RCT — structured peer check‑ins reduced psychological distress and burnout.
- • JMIR Formative Research (2024): Clinician peer‑support chat pilot — lower isolation/burnout risk, higher perceived support.
- • Frontiers in Psychology (2023): Asynchronous written reflections increased connection and reduced emotional exhaustion in high‑stress participants.
- • BMJ Open Quality (2021): Narrative peer‑sharing with ICU nurses — reduced burnout and moral distress; improved teamwork climate.
How Get Vitals implements it
Powerful & inspirational peer stories delivered inside the app.
Write-and-read flow mirrors the study’s effective pattern.
Guided Reflection
For Burnout
Study: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for Healthcare Workers (JAMA Internal Medicine, 2019)
What they did: Compared an 8-week MBSR program to standard stress education among healthcare professionals.
Results:
- • Emotional exhaustion (a core burnout symptom) dropped significantly more in the MBSR group
- • Benefits remained at 3-month follow-up
Why it matters: Validates mindfulness and reflective practices as habit-based interventions proven to reduce burnout effectively in healthcare workers.
Additional supporting studies:
- • Mindfulness (2021): Systematic review (Kriakous et al.) — brief, self‑guided mindfulness/CBT interventions for clinicians improved stress and burnout.
- • Frontiers in Psychology (2020): 10‑minute cognitive‑reappraisal audio session reduced stress/negative affect in healthcare trainees.
How Get Vitals implements it
Guided audio reflections and short mindfulness sessions tailored for nurses, such as processing a patient death or reconnecting with why you started nursing.
Frequent, small practices to build a sustained habit, designed for end of shift before you head home to help decompress.
Healthcare Chatbots for Burnout
Vitalk RCT (Malawi) + Vickybot Feasibility
Vitalk RCT (Malawi): 8‑week randomized controlled trial among health workers comparing a mental‑health chatbot to passive internet resources.
Outcomes (difference‑in‑differences):
- • Depression −0.68
- • Anxiety −0.44
- • Burnout −0.58
Direct evidence that a chatbot improved mental‑health outcomes and burnout among frontline health workers.
Vickybot feasibility (health‑care workers subset): ~1 month use in a small sample (n=34; 19 HCWs + 15 primary‑care patients).
Results (HCW subgroup):
- • Moderate reduction in work‑related burnout (z = −2.07, p = 0.04, r = 0.32)
Supports feasibility and shows an early signal of effectiveness for chatbot‑delivered support in healthcare settings.
Why it matters: Together these studies show both rigorous RCT evidence and practical feasibility for chatbots reducing burnout and supporting mental wellbeing in healthcare workers.
How Get Vitals implements it
Chatbot‑guided debriefs and check‑ins after shifts, tailored to nursing contexts.
Brief, writing‑based prompts and supportive reflections to reduce burnout and build resilience.
Tetris Intervention After Trauma
Based on multiple studies demonstrating visuospatial interference reduces intrusive memories
Study: Preventing intrusive memories after trauma via a brief intervention… (Molecular Psychiatry, 2018)
What they did: Motor vehicle accident patients briefly recalled their trauma and then played Tetris for ~20 minutes within six hours of the event.
Results:
- • Significantly fewer intrusive memories in the week following compared to a control group
Why it matters: Demonstrates that visuospatial distraction alone, without therapy, can reduce trauma-related flashbacks by interfering with memory consolidation.
Additional supporting studies:
- • Molecular Psychiatry (2021): Independent ER replication confirming reductions in intrusive memories.
- • Psychological Science (2009): Original lab study establishing the visuospatial interference mechanism.
How Get Vitals implements it
Visuospatial tetris available as a post incident tool.
Designed for relaxing after shift with calming audio and soft colors.
Burnout Assessment
Brief, validated burnout screening tools help healthcare professionals recognize early warning signs and track wellbeing over time. These are indicators, not diagnostic instruments — designed for awareness and early detection.
Key findings:
- • National Academy of Medicine recommends routine burnout and well‑being assessment for healthcare workers
- • Brief screening tools reliably detect burnout risk and can be as effective as longer inventories
- • Regular self‑assessment supports early intervention and workforce well‑being strategy
- National Academy of Medicine, 2020. Valid and Reliable Survey Instruments to Measure Burnout, Well‑Being, and Other Work‑Related Dimensions.NAM
- Shanafelt TD, et al. The Mayo Clinic Well‑Being Index: A Brief Tool to Measure Distress and Well‑Being Among Healthcare Professionals. J Occup Environ Med.
- Shah D, et al., 2021. An Evaluation of the Performance of Five Burnout Screening Tools. PLoS One.PMC
- National Academy of Medicine, 2018. A Pragmatic Approach for Organizations to Measure Health Care Professional Well‑Being.
- Schaufeli WB, et al., 2020. The Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT): Development, Validity, and Reliability. Int J Environ Res Public Health.PMC
Why it matters: Regular burnout screening helps healthcare professionals catch warning signs early and track changes over time. Quick indicators support self‑awareness and proactive wellbeing management without requiring formal diagnosis.
How Get Vitals implements it
In-app Burnout Assessment: Quick assessment tool to help you recognize burnout patterns and track your wellbeing over time.
Not a diagnosis — a compass for your mental health journey with visual tracking across multiple burnout dimensions.
Spiritual Wellbeing
Higher spiritual wellbeing — meaning, purpose, and connectedness — is associated with lower burnout and better mental health in healthcare professionals. Evidence is largely observational (associations rather than proven causation).
Key findings:
- • Spiritual wellbeing is inversely associated with burnout in clinicians
- • Spirituality/religiosity linked with lower stress, anxiety, and depression among HCWs
- • Nurses reporting personal spiritual beliefs show better wellbeing and lower burnout
- Whitehead et al., 2023. Systematic review in physicians: lower spiritual health correlates with higher burnout.PMC
- De Diego Cordero et al., 2022. Review in healthcare workers: spirituality/religiosity linked to lower stress, anxiety, and depression.Springer
- Harris et al., 2021. U.S. nurses: personal religious/spiritual beliefs associated with better wellbeing and lower burnout.PMC
Organizations that support respectful expressions of religion/spirituality have also been linked with less frequent burnout among essential workers.OUP
Why it matters: Spiritual wellbeing can help buffer burnout by reinforcing meaning, purpose, and connection. We offer this as an optional, respectful layer alongside evidence‑based tools.
How Get Vitals implements it
Christian Mode (opt‑in): Users can opt-in to weave Christian based content into their experience.
References
Linos, E., Ruffini, K., & Wilcoxen, S. (2022). Reducing burnout and resignations among frontline workers: A field experiment. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 32(3), 504-517.View Study
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Healthcare Workers. (2019). Effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in reducing burnout and emotional exhaustion among healthcare professionals. JAMA Internal Medicine.View Study (PMC)
Iyadurai, L., Blackwell, S. E., Meiser-Stedman, R., Watson, P. C., Bonsall, M. B., Geddes, J. R., & Holmes, E. A. (2018). Preventing intrusive memories after trauma via a brief intervention involving Tetris computer game play in the emergency department: A proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial. Molecular Psychiatry, 23(3), 674-682.View Study
Kanstrup, M., et al. (2021). Brief intervention to reduce intrusive memories after traumatic events in the emergency department: Randomized controlled trial. Molecular Psychiatry.View Study
Holmes, E. A., et al. (2009). Can playing the computer game Tetris reduce the build‑up of flashbacks for trauma? Psychological Science, 20(10), 1349–1355.View Study
Hilty, D. M., et al. (2024). Asynchronous digital peer‑support chat for clinicians: formative evaluation of feasibility and perceived impact. JMIR Formative Research.View Study (JMIR)
Stephens, et al. (2023). Brief asynchronous written reflections to build connection and reduce emotional exhaustion. Frontiers in Psychology.View Study
Sexton, J. B., et al. (2021). Narrative exchange peer support for ICU nurses: quality improvement outcomes. BMJ Open Quality.View Study (BMJ)
Kriakous, S. A., Elliott, K. A., Lamers, C., & Owen, R. (2021). The effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the psychological functioning of healthcare professionals: A systematic review. Mindfulness, 12, 1-28.View Study (Springer)
Shapiro, et al. (2020). Ten‑minute guided cognitive reappraisal reduces stress in medical trainees. Frontiers in Psychology.View Study
Vitalk RCT. (2024). Chatbot intervention for mental health among health workers in Malawi: 8-week randomized controlled trial. PLOS ONE.View Study (PLOS)
Vickybot feasibility study. (2023). Feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a mental health chatbot for healthcare workers. PMC.View Study (PMC)
Rosenthal, et al. (2023). Testing an Intervention to Improve Health Care Worker Well‑Being via a Peer‑To‑Peer Support Program. JAMA Network Open.View Study (JAMA)
National Academy of Medicine. (2020). Valid and Reliable Survey Instruments to Measure Burnout, Well‑Being, and Other Work‑Related Dimensions. NAM.View Report (NAM)
Shanafelt, T. D., et al. The Mayo Clinic Well‑Being Index: A Brief Tool to Measure Distress and Well‑Being Among Healthcare Professionals. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.View Study
Shah, D., et al. (2021). An Evaluation of the Performance of Five Burnout Screening Tools. PLoS One.View Study (PMC)
National Academy of Medicine. (2018). A Pragmatic Approach for Organizations to Measure Health Care Professional Well‑Being. NAM.View Report (NAM)
Schaufeli, W. B., et al. (2020). The Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT): Development, Validity, and Reliability. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.View Study (PMC)
Whitehead, et al. (2023). Spiritual health and burnout in physicians: systematic review. PMC.View Study (PMC)
De Diego Cordero, et al. (2022). Spirituality/religiosity linked to lower stress, anxiety, and depression among healthcare workers: review. Springer.View Study (Springer)
Harris, et al. (2021). Nurses' personal religious/spiritual beliefs associated with better wellbeing and lower burnout. PMC.View Study (PMC)
Organizations and spirituality at work (2024). Respectful expressions of religion/spirituality linked with less frequent burnout among essential workers. OUP advance article.View Study (OUP)
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