Evaluating the AIMIcare App: A Digital Solution for Healthcare Burnout Prevention (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Burnout, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment, is prevalent among healthcare professionals. Digital interventions offer a promising avenue for scalable burnout prevention, yet evaluations of such tools remain limited. OBJECTIVE This mixed-methods pilot study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of AIMIcare, a mobile health (mhealth) application designed to prevent and reduce stress and burnout among healthcare professionals through mindfulness, emotional regulation, and compassion-based strategies. METHODS We conducted a 12-week longitudinal mixed-methods evaluation of the AIMIcare app among healthcare professionals in the United States. Participants (N=79) completed surveys at baseline and 12 weeks, assessing burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory) and subjective well-being (Oxford Happiness Questionnaire). App engagement and usability were also evaluated. A subset of participants completed semi-structured qualitative interviews. RESULTS Improvement in burnout symptoms was observed over 12 weeks, with decreases in emotional exhaustion and increases in personal accomplishment. Depersonalization scores remained stable. Differences in outcomes were noted by role and years in practice, with mid-career professionals showing greater improvement in symptoms. Participants reported high app satisfaction (62%) and engagement (74.7%), with most indicating that AIMIcare motivated self-care behaviors (77.2%). Qualitative themes highlighted the app’s ease of use, relevance to healthcare stressors, and perceived emotional support, and included recommendations for more diverse content, improved functionality, and personalized feedback. CONCLUSIONS AIMIcare demonstrated feasibility and acceptability as a digital burnout intervention for healthcare professionals. Results from this study showed improvements in burnout scores while using the AIMIcare app. Enhancing personalization, engagement features, and functionality may further strengthen the app’s effectiveness. Future larger-scale studies are needed to confirm these findings and optimize this innovative mobile health solution for burnout among healthcare professionals.