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Introduction:
Both veterans and staff members are experiencing enhanced well-being in health care owing to the Transforming Health and Resilience through Integration of Values-based Experience (THRIVE) program. To date, 60 VA medical centers have implemented this groundbreaking initiative.
Designed at VA for the benefit of veterans and employees, THRIVE is a holistic clinical program that promotes happiness in the healthcare environment through innovative workshops. This comprehensive initiative employs a variety of scientifically-backed approaches such as positive psychology, Whole Health strategies, motivational interviewing techniques, and concepts derived from acceptance and commitment therapy.
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How does the THRIVE Program work?
In contrast to conventional health care models that react to health issues as they arise, THRIVE actively steers Veterans and VA staff through a sequence of specialized workshops. These workshops delve into their sense of purpose, self-confidence, overall health, and satisfaction with life.
THRIVE provides Veterans with a 14-week journey of transformative clinical workshops structured as collective medical appointments and facilitated by a multi-disciplinary team. These group sessions are designed using research-supported principles of Whole Health, positive psychology, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
The workshop series encompasses a wide range of 12 subjects, such as mental health, financial health, nutrition, spirituality, stress management, and more. Acknowledging the value of community, THRIVE utilizes a group-based format to enable Veterans to build connections and foster supportive networks.
Feedback from these sessions indicates considerable enhancements in Veterans’ mental health, including a reduction of 28% in depression symptoms, a decrease of 29% in anxiety levels, and a 25% boost in life satisfaction.
In addition to serving Veterans, THRIVE presents several unique programs for VA employees, including THRIVE Immersion, Mini-THRIVE, and Power THRIVE.
These programs, ranging in duration from three hours to five days, offer VA employees a chance to rejuvenate their drive and enthusiasm for providing care. They also foster well-being, enhance empathy, and mitigate professional burnout. Participants reported a 58% rise in job satisfaction and a 54% decrease in burnout after attending these programs.
2023 VHA Innovation Fellows
The VHA Innovation Ecosystem Fellowships equip VA employees with strategic mentorship and network-building opportunities, enabling them to emerge as change-makers and leaders. The fellows are endowed with the responsibility and ability to advocate for solutions that enhance the quality of health care for Veterans.
Through this program, Dr. Jacquelyn Paykel and Dr. Candis Connell have been honored as the 2022-2023 Senior Innovation Fellows. They will leverage their roles to expand THRIVE on a nationwide level. Dr. Paykel, a Navy Veteran with a quarter-century of clinical medicine experience, serves as the national director for THRIVE. Dr. Connell, meanwhile, is the national coordinator for THRIVE as well as the health behavior coordinator at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, Florida.
In recognition of their remarkable and pioneering work in the federal health care sector, THRIVE has been the recipient of both the 2023 G2X Change Agent Award and the 2023 FORUM Health IT Innovation Award.
You can learn more about THRIVE on their Diffusion Marketplace page. You can also learn more about VHA Innovation Ecosystem Fellowships on their webpage.
