The effect of resilience training with mHealth application based on micro-learning method on the stress and anxiety of nurses working in intensive care units: a randomized controlled trial

Introduction Nurses in intensive care units (ICUs) face high stress and anxiety, impacting their well-being and productivity. Addressing this, this study evaluated the impact of resilience training via a mHealth application based on micro-learning on ICU nurses' stress and anxiety levels. Materials and methods This study, a single-blind randomized controlled trial conducted in 2022-23, involved sixty ICU nurses from two Tehran hospitals. Nurses were chosen through purposive sampling and divided into intervention and control groups by simple randomization. The intervention group was taught resilience via an educational mHealth application based on micro-learning, with data collected using the anxiety and stress subscales of DASS-21. Results Before the intervention, there were no significant differences in stress and anxiety scores between the intervention and control groups (P > 0.05). Upon utilizing the mHealth application, the intervention group exhibited significant reductions in stress, from 10.77 +/- 3.33 to 9.00 +/- 1.66 (P = 0.001), and in anxiety, from 9.43 +/- 3.35 to 7.93 +/- 0.98 (P < 0.001). In contrast, the control group experienced a slight increase in stress levels, from 10.10 +/- 2.19 to 10.73 +/- 2.15 (P = 0.002), and in anxiety levels, from 9.10 +/- 1.63 to 10.23 +/- 1.65 (P < 0.0001). Conclusions The micro-learning-based mHealth application for resilience training significantly reduced ICU nurses' stress and anxiety, recommending its adoption as an innovative educational method. Trial registration The study has been registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (No. IRCT20221225056916N1, Date: 04/29/2023).