Previously submitted to: JMIR Formative Research (no longer under consideration since May 19, 2026)
Date Submitted: Dec 3, 2025
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Evaluating a Six-Month Self-Care Intervention: A Pilot Study Among Nurses, Faculty, and Students
ABSTRACT
Background:
The nursing workforce is experiencing unprecedented stress, burnout, and turnover, impacting nurses, nursing students, and faculty. Self-care interventions are essential to promote resilience and well-being. This pilot project evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of a six-month wellness intervention using Emotional Vaccines®, a series of brief, evidence-informed videos delivered via text message.
Objective:
To assess the feasibility and acceptability of a text-based self-care intervention designed to improve mental well-being and resilience among nurses, nursing students, and faculty in Florida.
Methods:
Emotional Vaccines®, developed by the National Center for Performance Health, consist of 2–3-minute videos on self-care topics. Participants received videos via text message over six months. Demographic data included region, gender, race, ethnicity, years of experience, and highest nursing degree. Post-program evaluation assessed video engagement, implementation of self-care strategies, satisfaction, and barriers.
Results:
Participants represented all Florida regions, with the largest proportion from West Central (35.4%). Most were women (92.1%) and White (70.9%); 16.3% identified as Hispanic. Forty participants (10.5%) completed the evaluation. Of these, 40% reported always watching videos, 37.5% often, 17.5% occasionally, and 5% rarely. Regarding self-care strategies, 7.5% always implemented them, 52.5% often, 32.5% occasionally, 5% rarely, and 2.5% never. Reported barriers included professional constraints (35%), personal challenges (37.5%), and content-related issues (7.5%). No technological barriers were identified; 42.5% reported no barriers.
Conclusions:
Delivering self-care strategies via text message is a feasible and acceptable approach for nurses, nursing students, and faculty. Participants engaged with the intervention and implemented strategies despite barriers. This low-intensity, scalable model may support mental well-being and resilience in the nursing workforce. Future research should examine the impact on stress reduction, burnout prevention, and retention.
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