{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T00:44:06Z","timestamp":1785545046734,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"JMIR Publications Inc.","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JMIR Res Protoc"],"abstract":"Abstract<\/jats:title>\n \n Background<\/jats:title>\n Burnout and poor well-being are serious problems in the workforce all over the world. Especially in academia, high pressure is evident. Therefore, addressing burnout is essential for enhancing academic staff well-being. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which aims to enhance psychological flexibility skills comprising present moment awareness, value-based actions, and differentiation of thoughts from self, has been found to be a promising approach to enhance workers well-being and work satisfaction.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Objective<\/jats:title>\n The purpose of this study was to first develop and describe our acceptance and commitment therapy\u2013based WELLS course, aimed at supporting academic staff well-being and working life skills, offered to academic staff. The second aim was to report the mixed methods study design protocol to explore the participants\u2019 experiences of the effects of the course.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n We will conduct a single-arm, nonrandomized, and mixed methods study with baseline, postintervention, and 6-month follow-up assessments. We will use an explanatory sequential design in which qualitative data are used to explain and deepen the quantitative findings. The quantitative part of the study aims to recruit 300 participants from the University of Helsinki. Questionnaire data will be collected from the participants 3 times: at the beginning, at the end, and 6 months after the course for well-being\u2013related measures such as burnout and working life skills such as time management and psychological flexibility. The participants will be clustered based on their initial burnout risk score using latent profile analysis. Differences in participants\u2019 dropout, participation forms, and changes in well-being and working life skills during the course will be analyzed with mixed ANOVA. Qualitative data will be collected from reflective journals written at the end of the course, participants\u2019 written goal statements, and interviews among willing participants. Reflective journals will be analyzed with qualitative content analysis, and interviews will be analyzed using thematic analysis.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n As of March 2026, a total of 265 participants had enrolled in the course and given their consent to participate in the research. The current data are being analyzed, and the results are expected to be published in late 2026 or early 2027.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n If the intervention proves successful, it may serve as an important tool for improving academics\u2019 well-being, working life skills, and engagement by understanding how this intervention can help academic staff members with different initial burnout levels. In addition, it can help to understand and solve individual challenges related to well-being in the academic workplace.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.2196\/84729","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,6]],"date-time":"2026-05-06T14:35:05Z","timestamp":1778078105000},"page":"e84729-e84729","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Development of a Web-Based Intervention Course to Promote Academic Staff Well-Being: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study Design"],"prefix":"10.2196","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3858-211X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Henna","family":"Asikainen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-9679-4863","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Veera","family":"Lampinen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5093-2402","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nina","family":"Katajavuori","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1010","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,3]]},"reference":[{"issue":"4","key":"R1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"771","DOI":"10.1080\/03075079.2020.1793934","article-title":"The psychosocial hazards of academic work: an analysis of trends","volume":"47","author":"Wray","journal-title":"Stud High Educ"},{"issue":"2","key":"R2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"178","DOI":"10.1108\/02683940510579803","article-title":"The experience of work\u2010related stress across occupations","volume":"20","author":"Johnson","journal-title":"J Manag Psychol"},{"issue":"2","key":"R3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"173","DOI":"10.1037\/str0000067","article-title":"Overtime and quality of working life in academics and nonacademics: the role of perceived work-life balance","volume":"26","author":"Fontinha","journal-title":"Int J Stress Manag"},{"issue":"12","key":"R4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"99","DOI":"10.5539\/ies.v14n12p99","article-title":"Occupational stress, coping strategies, health, and well-being among university academic staff\u2014an integrative review","volume":"14","author":"Shen","journal-title":"Int Educ Stud"},{"issue":"6","key":"R5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph20065006","article-title":"What is wellbeing?","volume":"20","author":"Jarden","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"issue":"3","key":"R6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"228","DOI":"10.1111\/bioe.12702","article-title":"What does mental health have to do with well-being?","volume":"34","author":"Keller","journal-title":"Bioethics"},{"issue":"2","key":"R7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"207","DOI":"10.2307\/3090197","article-title":"The mental health continuum: from languishing to flourishing in life","volume":"43","author":"Keyes","journal-title":"J Health Soc Behav"},{"key":"R8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.psych.52.1.141","article-title":"On happiness and human potentials: a review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being","volume":"52","author":"Ryan","journal-title":"Annu Rev Psychol"},{"key":"R9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2458-11-487","article-title":"Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS): validated for teenage school students in England and Scotland. 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