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.

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Behavioral 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.

Spiritual wellbeing (supporting evidence)

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.

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.

Kanstrup, M., et al. (2021). Brief intervention to reduce intrusive memories after traumatic events in the emergency department: Randomized controlled trial. Molecular Psychiatry.

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.

Hilty, D. M., et al. (2024). Asynchronous digital peer‑support chat for clinicians: formative evaluation of feasibility and perceived impact. JMIR Formative Research.

Stephens, et al. (2023). Brief asynchronous written reflections to build connection and reduce emotional exhaustion. Frontiers in Psychology.

Sexton, J. B., et al. (2021). Narrative exchange peer support for ICU nurses: quality improvement outcomes. BMJ Open Quality.

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.

Shapiro, et al. (2020). Ten‑minute guided cognitive reappraisal reduces stress in medical trainees. Frontiers in Psychology.

Rosenthal, et al. (2023). Testing an Intervention to Improve Health Care Worker Well‑Being via a Peer‑To‑Peer Support Program. JAMA Network Open.

Whitehead, et al. (2023). Spiritual health and burnout in physicians: systematic review. PMC.

De Diego Cordero, et al. (2022). Spirituality/religiosity linked to lower stress, anxiety, and depression among healthcare workers: review. Springer.

Harris, et al. (2021). Nurses’ personal religious/spiritual beliefs associated with better wellbeing and lower burnout. PMC.

Organizations and spirituality at work (2024). Respectful expressions of religion/spirituality linked with less frequent burnout among essential workers. OUP advance article.

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