Analysis of implementation drivers of secondary traumatic stress (STS)-informed organizational change and experiences of STS and burnout in child welfare

BACKGROUND: STS and burnout (BO) are significant problems for child welfare professionals (Bride, 2007; Craig & Sprang, 2010). A challenge for at-risk professions is to understand how both individuals and organizations can address the potential impact of these conditions.

OBJECTIVE: This study explores the influence of organizational factors on individual experiences of STS and BO in child welfare settings.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Study participants were 382 child welfare professionals in the United States who were participating in an organizational assessment of STS and related activities.

METHOD: The Secondary Traumatic Stress Informed Organizational Assessment (STSI-OA) tool (Sprang et al., 2014) was administered to evaluate the use of policies, practices and training activities that address STS and BO (Sprang et al., 2014). The National Implementation Research Network's (NIRN) implementation framework was applied to the STSI-OA and domain activities loaded onto the three implementation drivers of competency, organization and leadership (Sprang, Ross, & Miller, 2018). Regression analyses were conducted to determine the strength of associations between the implementation drivers of STS informed organizational activity and individual ratings of STS and BO.

RESULT: Increased use of STS-informed activities affiliated with all three implementation drivers was significantly associated with lower individual STS and BO scores. STS-informed activities associated with the organization driver seemed particularly effective for addressing STS.

CONCLUSION: This study supports the utility of the integrated framework for enacting STS-informed change in child welfare contexts. Recommendations for organizations and future research are provided.