“Active against exhaustion – for avoiding stress and preventing burnout” – A two-week prevention program with refresher course performed in the health resort Bad Birnbach

The project “Active against exhaustion – for avoiding stress and preventing burnout” was funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Health and Care and is carried out in cooperation with the spa administration Bad Birnbach, the Rottal Terme Bad Birnbach and the health insurance AOK Bavaria.

A comprehensive prevention program “Active against exhaustion” has been developed aiming to actively reduce stress and exhaustion in order to avoid adverse health effects of chronical stress.

The program consists of a two-week prevention program and a four-day refresher course performed six months afterwards. The program combines both relaxation components and units of activity and is supplemented by lectures on exhaustion & stress. As a key component the local remedy of Bad Birnbach, the thermal water, is actively involved in the relaxation and motion modules of the program. To consolidate the experiences and newly acquired knowledge from the two-week program and to achieve long-term success a four-day refresher course after six months was additionally integrated.

An evaluation study was conducted as a randomized controlled intervention study including two control groups and a follow-up period of 12 months. In September 2015, the participants of the first group came to Bad Birnbach to join the two-week prevention program. From March 2016 until May 2016 the groups took part in the refresher course. Data collection was completed in spring 2017.