Satisfaction with a daily supportive text messaging program aimed at promoting psychological well-being of educators: Outcomes from implementation of the Wellness4Teachers

Abstract

Background

The Wellness4Teachers program, a daily supportive text messaging program, was launched in Canada to mitigate psychological problems among teachers.

Objective

This study assessed subscribers’ experiences and satisfaction with the Wellness4Teachers supportive text messaging program.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted during the 2022/2023 academic year and employed a mixed-methods approach. Data was collected from educators who self-subscribed to the free Wellness4Teachers program in Canada. Participants’ satisfaction levels were assessed using a Likert scale to evaluate the responses to different aspects of the program. Frequency counts and percentages were used to summarize quantitative responses. Qualitative data from responses to open-ended questions in the satisfaction survey were analyzed using content analysis.

Results

Overall, 88.3% of the participants were female, and 11.7% were male. 68.2% of participants agreed that Wellness4Teachers text messages helped them manage stress, 63.1% agreed it helped them cope with anxiety, and 74.4% felt connected to a support system. Additionally, 73.6% reported improved overall mental well-being due to the program, and 72.2% felt hopeful about managing concerns with their mental health. Further, 95.4% of respondents reported that the text messages were always or often positive, and 93.3% deemed them to be always or often affirming. Elementary school teachers and administrators had significantly higher mean satisfaction scores compared to senior high school teachers and educators who selected "other" as their major role in school. Qualitative feedback highlighted preferences for message delivery times and suggestions for enhancing personalization features to improve the Wellness4Teachers program.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that educators were highly satisfied with and receptive to the Wellness4Teachers program. With the addition of enhanced personalization features suggested by the educators, the program may help to effectively supplement support for teachers’ psychological well-being while offsetting challenges associated with time constraints and geographical location.

Keywords

Satisfaction educators psychological well-being stress anxiety depression burnout supportive text messaging eHealth psychological intervention

Introduction

The psychological well-being of teachers is critical as it indirectly impacts both students’ academic achievement and mental well-being.¹ In addition to their academic role, teachers serve as role models and mentors for the overall development of their students. They help students develop essential life and social skills, such as communication, empathy, teamwork, and problem-solving.² While often rewarding, their multifaceted roles can lead to teachers feeling overwhelmed and stressed, which are risk factors for poor mental and physical health and burnout.³ Similarly, increased job demands have been associated with increased burnout among teachers.⁴ Studies indicate that anxiety and depressive symptoms tend to increase among teachers throughout the school year.⁵

A recent Canadian study reported a high prevalence of burnout, notably with 76.9% reporting emotional exhaustion.⁶ This study highlighted stress and low resilience as predictors of teachers’ burnout, suggesting interventions should target stress and aim to build resilience. Teachers’ resilience has been found to negatively impact stress levels, burnout, anxiety, depression, well-being, mood, job engagement, and professional fulfillment.⁷

Even under optimal conditions, teachers may experience increased stress due to the intense demands of their jobs, including workload demands, administrative responsibilities, classroom management, and the emotional labor of supporting students.⁸ For teachers to perform at their best, it is vital that they receive adequate support. Various interventions have been explored to support teachers, but most face limitations such as time constraints and geographic barriers.⁹ Mindfulness-based stress reduction, a popular intervention, has shown promise in enhancing teachers’ wellness, reducing anxiety and emotional exhaustion, and improving personal accomplishment.¹⁰ However, these programs can be time-consuming for busy educators.

Further, these programs can be costly, may involve wait times, and could present geographical barriers to assess, particularly for teachers in rural areas or small, remote cities. Over the past few decades, eHealth technology has gained traction as a viable, cost-efficient solution to these challenges, even among the older population.¹¹ For instance, therapist-guided internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy has proven effective in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety.¹¹

Similarly, cognitive behavioral therapy-based supportive text message interventions have been successful in alleviating stress, anxiety, and depression during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic^12–15 and natural disasters such as the 2023 wildfires in Canada.¹⁶ Supportive text message interventions have also demonstrated effectiveness in addressing symptoms of depression in clinical samples,^17–19 with high user satisfaction reported.^20–22

Acknowledging the busy school environment and time constraints faced by teachers, the Wellness4Teachers program²³ was launched in three Canadian provinces (Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador) during the 2022/2023 academic year to mitigate stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression among teachers. The daily supportive messages were crafted by psychiatrists, mental health therapists, and psychologists based on the cognitive behavioral therapy principles. The messages were further reviewed by education specialists, before they were built into the Wellness4Teachers program.²³ This free, non-interactive, mobile text-based program delivers one-way daily supportive messages to the mobile phones of teachers who signed up for the program, aiming to mitigate stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout.²³ Sample messages received by teachers include:

Take time every day to connect with others outside of the school environment. Make a phone call, plan a get-together with friends, send a text, or even say hi to a stranger. Encourage yourself to be around others instead.

As a teacher, when I focus on the process, the outcome takes care of itself. Whatever happens, I will learn more about myself.

Stumbling blocks can become steppingstones to a better life. Don't be discouraged when you encounter setbacks in your teaching profession as there may be hidden opportunities within.

Other sample messages can be assessed in the previously published protocol.²³ The program was intended to offset time constraints and geographic barriers to accessing face-to-face psychological counseling and other supportive services. The program provides supportive messages wherever teachers are, at their convenience. This study aims to evaluate subscriber experiences and satisfaction with the Wellness4Teachers daily supportive text messaging program.

Methodology

Study design

This study employed an exploratory cross-sectional design using a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Data collection occurred during the 2022/2023 academic year via online questionnaires administered through the University of Alberta REDCap platform, a web application extensively used for survey construction and data management.²⁴

Ethics approval

Ethics approval was obtained from the Dalhousie University Human Research Ethics Review Board (REB # 2023-6840) and the University of Alberta Ethics Review Board (Pro00117558). Participants received an information leaflet with the online survey questions embedded in the introductory text message upon subscribing to the Wellness4Teachers program. Completion and submission of responses implied consent. Ethical considerations and data privacy measures were considered prior to implementation of Weness4Teachers and during evaluation of the program. Apart from the phone numbers with which the ResilienceNHope online application delivered the daily messages, no personally identifiable subscriber information was collected from participants through the program. All survey data were collected through the University of Alberta REDCap application, a secure platform for collecting and storing research data.²⁴

Study settings

The study involved educators from three of Canada’s 10 provinces: Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada also includes three northern territories).²⁵ The total population of Canada in 2024 was 40,769,890 individuals.²⁶ Alberta, a western province, had an estimated population of 4,756,408 as of October 2023²⁷ and about 32,523 full and part-time teachers.²⁸ Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador are eastern provinces with estimated populations of 1,066,416 and 540,418, respectively.²⁹ Despite urban centers, these three provinces encompass significant rural or semi-rural areas, comprising a substantial portion of their populations and geographic regions.²⁵ In 2022, Nova Scotia had over 10,000 teachers and professional support staff,³⁰ while Newfoundland and Labrador had 10,375 full-time, part-time, and casual employees and support staff.³¹

Sample size considerations

Given the population sample size of 1912 subscribers, and assuming a margin of error for the mean of 1, a 95% confidence interval and a population variance of 100, using an online script,³² the sample size needed to estimate the overall mean satisfaction for the Wellness4Teachers program was 321.

Data collection and outcome measures

Data were collected from elementary and high school educators enrolled in the Wellness4Teachers program during the 2022/2023 academic year. The Wellness4Teachers program was launched and promoted among teachers at the beginning of the 2022/2023 academic year through the provincial teachers’ associations in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador. There was no inclusion or exclusion criterion. All teachers in both elementary and secondary schools in the three under studied provinces were eligible to participate in the program. Educators could subscribe to the program by texting “TeachWell” to a designated phone number and were invited to complete baseline surveys via a link provided in the initial welcome message. Participation in baseline and subsequent impact and satisfaction surveys was voluntary and independent of receiving daily supportive text messages. Thus, teachers may opt to receive the daily supportive text messages but may choose not to complete the web-based surveys. Participants were able to opt out of the program at any. The satisfaction survey aimed to explore teachers’ satisfaction with the Wellness4Teachers program. It included Likert scale questions to assess subscribers’ receptivity, perceptions, and impact of the text messages. Open-ended questions sought additional feedback and suggestions for program improvement, such as:

How can we improve Wellness4Teachers?

Please share additional comments, suggestions, or feedback about Wellness4Teachers.

Completion of the web-based survey took approximately 10 minutes. Questionnaires captured sociodemographic, professional, and clinical variables and satisfaction information regarding the Wellness4Teachers program. While the baseline and satisfaction questionnaires were not formally validated, they have been utilized in several previous satisfaction studies.^21,22,33,34 The scale achieved good internal reliability, with a Cronbach's Alpha ranging between 0.79 and 0.95 for scale items in this study. The primary outcome measured in this study was overall participant satisfaction with the Wellness4Teachers program, evaluated at six weeks, three months, and six months post-enrollment assessed using subscribers’ responses to the question: “Using any number from 0 (not at all satisfied) to 10 (very satisfied), how would you rate your overall satisfaction for the Wellness4Teachers program?” For data analysis, responses to Likert scale questions assessing various aspects of the Wellness4Teachers program responses were collapsed into three categories: agree or strongly agree, neutral, and disagree or strongly disagree. Receptivity to and perceptions of the program were evaluated using a 5-point Likert scale (often, sometimes, always, rarely, never). All Likert scale responses were summarized as frequency counts of response categories and percentages.

Data analysis

Quantitative data were analyzed with SPSS for Windows (version 28) statistical software.³⁵ Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed, with a post hoc comparison of overall satisfaction with the Wellness4Teachers program among educators based on their province of residence and professional roles. We performed sensitivity analysis by assessing correlations³⁶ between the included variables in the post hoc analysis. Bonferroni corrected significant p-values were used to assess the association between the independent variables and the dependent variables. Missing quantitative data was not imputed; analysis was based on completed survey responses. Qualitative data from responses to open-ended questions in the satisfaction survey were analyzed using content analysis until data saturation was achieved. Initially two researchers independently familiarized themselves with the data sets by reading and re-reading the responses to enhance understanding of the data. After familiarization, “codes” were independently developed by the two researchers to specify aspects of the data that represent important concepts or ideas. The initial codes were developed in line with the specific research questions. These codes were then compared by the two researchers and refined based on consensus. Once data was coded, similar codes were grouped together to identify broader themes or patterns. Researchers reviewed and refined the themes to ensure reliability, and any discrepancies were resolved through discussion. This also ensured the themes were accurately representative of the data. Sub-themes were then developed from the main themes and organize them to understand emerging broader meanings. Additionally, while analyzing supportive text message responses, researchers focused on grounded theory to help determine common themes, including how support was perceived over time and participants’ practical suggestions for improving the text messages. Data saturation was deemed to have been achieved when no new themes and sub-themes emerged. Verbatim quotes from subscribers supported each theme and subtheme identified.

Results

Overall, 1912 teachers subscribed to the Wellness4Teachers program. Out of this, 1235 participants completed the six months program and received the final web-based evaluation survey giving a six-month program completion rate of 64.60%.

Figure 1 is the study flow chart showing the number of unique subscribers to Wellness4Teachers who completed the surveys at baseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months.

Figure 1.

Wellness4Teachers program surveys completed by unique subscribers at each time point.

Overall, responses to the baseline and satisfaction surveys across the three follow-up time points show that most participants (311, 75.3%) were from Alberta. Most participants were female (369, 88.3%) and only (49, 11.7%) were male. The majority of the respondents were 41–60 years old (267, 63.9%), teach in urban settings (240, 57.4%), and are elementary school teachers (202, 48.3%) (see Table 1). The survey response rate at six months was 10.93% (135/1235).

Table 1.

Demographic characteristics of respondents who completed any follow-up survey.

Variables	Follow-Up Time Frame			Overall
Variables	Six WeeksN (%)	Three Months N (%)	Six MonthsN (%)	Overall
Province of residence
Alberta	116 (37.3%)	92 (29.6%)	103 (33.1%)	311 (75.3%)
Nova Scotia	21 (42.0%)	16 (32.0%)	13 (22.0%)	50 (12.1%)
Newfoundland and Labrador	22 (42.3%)	11 (21.2%)	19 (36.5%)	52 (12.6%)
Sex at birth
Male	16 (32.7%)	14 (38.6%)	19 (38.8%)	49 (11.7%)
Female	146 (39.6%)	106 (28.7%)	117 (31.7%)	369 (88.3%)
Age
≤25	8 (50.0%)	2 (12.5%)	6 (37.5%)	16 (3.8%)
26–40	55 (45.8%)	29 (24.3%)	36 (30.0%)	120 (28.7%)
41–60	95 (35.6%)	85 (31.8%)	87 (32.6%)	267 (63.9%)
≥61	4 (26.7%)	4 (26.7%)	7 (47.6%)	15 (3.6%)
School setting
Urban	59 (33.1%)	56 (31.5%)	63 (35.4%)	107 (42.6%)
Rural	103 (42.9%)	64 (26.7%)	73 (30.4%)	240 (57.4%)
Major role
Elementary school teacher	76 (37.6%)	57 (28.2%)	69 (34.2%)	202 (48.3%)
Junior school teacher	27 (42.2%)	16 (25.0%)	21 (32.8%)	64 (15.3%)
High school teacher	25 (40.3%)	20 (32.3%)	17 (27.4%)	62 (14.8%)
Support staff	2 (22.2%)	2 (22.2%)	5 (55.6%)	9 (2.2%)
Administrator	12 (44.4%)	7 (25.9%)	8 (29.6%)	27 (6.5%)
Other	20 (37.0%)	18 (33.3%)	16 (29.6%)	54 (12.9%)

Wellness4Teachers program—perceived impact

Table 2 provides an overview of the participants’ perceived impact of the Wellness4Teachers Program daily messages received post-intervention at all three follow-up time points (6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months). The total number of survey responses received was 450. A total of 307 (68.2%) participants agreed that the Wellness4Teachers text messages helped them cope with stress, 284 (63.1%) reported the messages helped them cope with anxiety, and 233 (51.8%) reported the messages helped them cope with depression. Additionally, 335 (74.4%) respondents agreed that the Wellness4Teachers messages made them feel connected to a support system, and 325 (72.2%) respondents indicated they felt hopeful about managing concerns with their mental health. 331 (73.6%) indicated that Wellness4Teacher messages helped improve their overall mental well-being, and 269 (59.8%) responses agreed that the messages improved their quality of life. Applying a Bonferroni corrected significant p-value of ≤ .006; Table 2 indicates that the only statistically significant difference in the perceived impact of the Wellness4Teachers program at the three time points was “Helped educators cope with depression.” Specifically, at 6 months, only 40.5% of subscribers agreed that the Wellness4Teachers Program helped them cope with depression, and this proportion increased to 60.1% at 6 months.

Table 2.

Perceived impact of the Wellness4Teachers daily messages post-intervention at all three time points.

Satisfaction Variables (Perceived Impact of the Wellness4Teachers Program)	Follow-Up Time Frame			Overall	Cramer's V Value	P
	Six weeks N (%)	Three monthsN (%)	Six monthsN (%)	Overall	Cramer's V Value	P
Helped educators cope with stress
Agree	94 (57.7%)	94 (72.9%)	119 (73.3%)	307 (68.2%)	0.12	.01
Neutral	43 (26.4%)	22 (17.1%)	24 (15.2%)	89 (19.8%)
Disagree	26 (16.0%)	13 (10.1%)	15 (9.5%)	54 (12.0%)
Helped educators cope with anxiety
Agree	86 (52.8%)	90 (69.8%)	108 (68.4%)	284 (63.1%)	0.12	.01
Neutral	47 (28.8%)	28 (21.7%)	33 (20.9%)	108 (24.0%)
Disagree	30 (18.4%)	11 (8.5%)	17 (10.8%)	58 (12.9%)
Helped educators cope with depression.
Agree	66 (40.5%)	72 (55.8%)	95 (60.1%)	233 (51.8%)	0.13	.004
Neutral	64 (39.3%)	43 (33.3%)	40 (25.3%)	147 (32.7%)
Disagree	33 (20.5%)	14 (10.9%)	23 (14.6%)	70 (15.6%)
Helped educators cope with loneliness.
Agree	62 (38.0%)	58 (45.0%)	73 (46.2%)	193 (42.9%)	0.06	.57
Neutral	62 (38.7%)	46 (35.7%)	57 (36.1%)	166 (36.9%)
Disagree	38 (23.3%)	25 (19.4%)	28 (17.7%)	91 (20.2%)
Helped educators feel connected to a support system.
Agree	119 (73.0%)	101 (78.3%)	115 (72.8%)	335 (74.4%)	0.07	.31
Neutral	27 (16.6%)	14 (10.8%)	31 (19.6%)	72 (16.0%)
Disagree	17 (10.4%)	12 (7.6%)	12 (7.6%)	43 (9.6%)
Helped educators feel hopeful.
Agree	109 (66.9%)	97 (75.2%)	119 (75.3%)	325 (72.2%)	0.09	.16
Neutral	32 (19.6%)	23 (17.8%)	29 (18.4%)	84 (18.7%)
Disagree	22 (13.5%)	9 (7.0%)	10 (6.3%)	41 (9.1%)
Helped improve educators’ overall mental well-being
Agree	110 (67.5%)	108 (83.7%)	113 (71.5%)	331 (73.6%)	0.12	.01
Neutral	39 (23.9%)	11 (8.5%)	34 (21.5%)	84 (18.7%)
Disagree	14 (8.6%)	10 (7.8%)	11 (7.0%)	35 (7.8%)
Helped improve educators’ quality of life
Agree	84 (51.5%)	85 (65.9%)	100 (63.3%)	269 (59.8%)	0.10	.07
Neutral	61 (37.4%)	32 (24.8%)	48 (30.4%)	141 (31.3%)
Disagree	18 (11.0%)	12 (9.3%)	10 (6.3%)	40 (8.9%)

Participants perception of Wellness4Teachers messages

Table 3 shows participants’ responses on the 5-point Likert scale: often, sometimes, always, rarely, and never. Across all three time points, the majority of respondents consistently rated the text messages positively: 426 (95.4%) respondents the text messages were always or often positive, 416 (93.3%) found them always or often affirmative, 397 (89%) indicated the messages were always or often succinct, and 366 (82.3%) found them relevant. Similarly, 425 (95.3%) reported often or always reading the text messages, 78 (17.6%) respondents indicated often or always returning to re-read them, and 342 (76.7%) read and took time to reflect on the messages. Applying a Bonferroni corrected significant p-value of ≤ .006; Table 3 indicates there was no statistically significant difference in subscriber's perceptions regarding the Wellness4Teachers Program messages.

Table 3.

Subscriber's perceptions regarding the Wellness4Teachers program messages

Satisfaction Variable	Follow-up Time Frame			Overall	Cramer's V Value	P
Satisfaction Variable	Six Weeks	Three Months	Six Months	Overall	Cramer's V Value	P
Wellness4Teachers text messages were positive.
Always	105 (65.2%)	98 (76.0%)	101 (64.7%)	304 (68.2%)	0.10	.18
Often	50 (31.1%)	27 (20.9%)	45 (28.8%)	122 (27.4%)
Sometimes	5 (3.1%)	4 (3.1%)	10 (6.4%)	19 (4.3%)
Rarely	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.02%)
Never	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)
Wellness4Teachers text messages were affirmative
Always	105 (65.2%)	95 (73.6%)	105 (67.3%)	305 (68.4%)	0.10	.35
Often	41 (25.5%)	28 (21.7%)	32 (26.9%)	111 (24.9%)
Sometimes	13 (8.1%)	4 (3.1%)	8 (5.1%)	25 (5.6%)
Rarely	2 (1.2%)	2 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.9%)
Never	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)
Wellness4Teachers text messages were succinate
Always	96 (59.6%)	81 (62.8%)	91 (58.3%)	268 (60.1%)	0.09	.56
Often	44 (27.3%)	37 (28.7%)	38 (30.8%)	129 (28.9%)
Sometimes	21 (13.0%)	10 (7.8%)	16 (10.3%)	47 (10.5%)
Rarely	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.02%)
Never	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)
Wellness4Teachers text messages were relevant
Always	80 (49.7%)	67 (51.9%)	77 (49.4%)	224 (50.5%)	0.10	.29
Often	52 (32.3%)	42 (32.6%)	48 (30.8%)	142 (31.8%)
Sometimes	22 (13.7%)	17 (13.2%)	28 (17.9%)	67 (15.0%)
Rarely	7 (4.3%)	3 (2.3%)	1 (0.6%)	11 (2.5%)
Never	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.3%)	2 (0.4%)
How often do educators’ read Wellness4Teachers messages
Always	121 (75.2%)	102 (79.1%)	112 (71.8%)	335 (75.1%)	0.05	.89
Often	33 (20.5%)	22 (17.1%)	35 (22.4%)	90 (20.2%)
Sometimes	6 (3.7%)	4 (3.1%)	7 (4.5%)	17 (3.8%)
Rarely	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.8%)	2 (1.3%)	3 (0.9%)
Never	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)
Action taken after reading the messages
Read the messages and took no action	36 (22.4%)	23 (17.8%)	20 (12.8%)	79 (17.7%)	0.12	.25
Read the messages and took time to reflect on the messages	118 (34.5%)	101 (78.3%)	123 (78.8%)	342 (76.7%)
Read the messages and take a positive or beneficial action	5 (3.1%)	3 (2.3%)	9 (5.8%)	17 (3.8%)
Did not read the messages	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.8%)	1 (0.6%)	3 (0.7%)
Read the messages and took a negative or harmful action	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.9%)	4 (0.9%)
Other	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)
Returned to read the messages
Always	5 (3.1%)	4 (3.1%)	6 (3.8%)	15 (3.4%)	0.08	.68
Often	20 (12.4%)	21 (16.4%)	22 (14.1%)	63 (14.2%)
Sometimes	63 (39.1%)	56 (43.8%)	73 (46.8%)	192 (43.1%)
Rarely	55 (34.2%)	32 (25.0%)	37 (23.7%)	124 (27.9%)
Never	18 (11.2%)	15 (11.7%)	18 (11.5%)	51 (11.5%)
Preference for receiving supportive messages
Twice daily	5 (3.1%)	4 (3.1%)	6 (3.8%)	15 (3.4%)	0.10	.22
Once daily	116 (72.0%)	90 (69.8%)	91 (58.3%)	297 (66.6%)
Once every other day	29 (18.0%)	28 (21.7%)	43 (27.6%)	100 (22.4%)
Once weekly	11 (6.8%)	7 (5.4%)	16 (10.3%)	34 (7.6%)

Educators perceived satisfaction with Wellness4Teachers messages

Table 4 outlines educators’ responses on a ten-point scale from 1 (not at all satisfied) to 10 (very satisfied) to express their overall satisfaction with the Wellness4Teachers program. Participants’ satisfaction with the Wellness4Teachers program was statistically significant with respect to province of residence (p = .001) and teachers’ role (p = .016).

Table 4.

Overall educator satisfaction with the Wellness4Teachers program on a scale of 1 (not satisfied) to 10 (very satisfied).

Variables	N	Mean Satisfaction	SD	95% Confidence Interval for Mean		F/T* value (D/F)	P	Effect Size
Variables	N	Mean Satisfaction	SD	Lower Bound	Upper Bound	F/T* value (D/F)	P	Eta-Square
Follow-up period
Six weeks	160	7.82	1.75	7.54	8.09	1.78 (2)	.17	.01
Three months	128	8.1797	1.87	7.85	8.51
Six months	154	8.1364	1.84	7.84	8.43
Sex at birth
Male	49	8.37	1.41			1.35* (402)	.18	.03
Female	355	7.99	1.88			1.35* (402)	.18	.03
Age in years
≤25	15	7.07	1.94	5.99	8.14	2.21 (3)	.09	.03
26–40	116	7.87	1.63	7.57	8.17
41–60	258	8.15	1.90	7.92	8.38
≥61	15	8.33	1.80	7.34	9.33
Province of residence
Alberta	300	8.1400	1.71957	0.09928	7.9446	6.88 (2)	.001	.03
Nova Scotia	49	7.1429	2.33631	0.33376	6.4718
NFL	52	8.2692	1.77251	0.24580	7.7758
School setting
Urban	174	8.22	1.88			1.73* (402)	.08	.02
Rural	230	7.90	1.78			1.73* (402)	.08	.02
Role in school
elementary school teacher	194	8.28	1.80	8.03	8.54	2.83 (5)	.016	.03
Junior school teacher	60	8.07	1.74	7.62	8.52
High school teacher	61	7.52	1.99	7.02	8.04
Support staff	9	7.44	1.67	6.16	8.73
Administrator	26	8.46	1.48	7.87	9.06
Other	54	7.59	1.89	7.08	8.11
Total	442	8.03	1.82	7.86	8.20	N/A	N/A

T* denote T-values anywhere * is found.

Sensitivity analysis using correlation analysis of inputs did not show any strong correlations (r ≥ ± 0.7) between the independent variables included in Table 4, suggesting that the methods for assessing mean differences in satisfaction between the independent variables were sufficiently robust.

Table 5 presents the post-hoc analysis comparing Wellness4Teachers mean satisfaction scores across different provinces of residence.

Table 5.

Post hoc comparison of the overall satisfaction with Wellness4Teachers among educators based on their province of residence.

(I) Which Province Do You Currently Live In?	(J) Which Province Do You Currently Live In?	Mean Difference (I–J)	SD	Sig.	95% Confidence Interval
(I) Which Province Do You Currently Live In?	(J) Which Province Do You Currently Live In?	Mean Difference (I–J)	SD	Sig.	Lower Bound	Upper Bound
Alberta	NFL	−0.12923	0.27214	.635	−0.6642	0.4058
Alberta	NS	0.99714*	0.27915	<.001	0.4483	1.5459
NFL	Alberta	0.12923	0.27214	.635	−0.4058	0.6642
NFL	NS	1.12637*	0.36070	.002	0.4173	1.8355
NS	Alberta	−0.99714*	0.27915	<.001	−1.5459	−0.4483
NS	NFL	−1.12637*	0.36070	.002	−1.8355	−0.4173

*Symbol highlights the mean difference values that are significant.

The post hoc analysis in Table 5 shows that Nova Scotia had a significantly lower mean satisfaction score than Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador (mean difference of −.99714 and −1.12637, respectively). Additionally, there were statistically significant differences in satisfaction between Alberta and Nova Scotia (p < .001) and Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador (p = .002).

Table 6 shows the post-hoc analysis comparing mean satisfaction scores with the Wellness4Teachers program based on the primary professional role of the educators.

Table 6.

Post hoc comparison of the overall satisfaction with Wellness4Teachers among educators based on their role.

(I) What Major Role Do You Play in Your School?	(J) What Major Role Do You Play in Your School?	Mean Difference (I–J)	SE	Sig.	95% Confidence Interval
(I) What Major Role Do You Play in Your School?	(J) What Major Role Do You Play in Your School?	Mean Difference (I–J)	SE	Sig.	Lower Bound	Upper Bound
Elementary school teacher	Junior high school teacher	0.21684		.418	−0.3092	0.7429
	Senior high school teacher	0.75891*		.005	0.2361	1.2817
	Support staff	0.83906		.175	−0.3753	2.0534
	Administrator	−0.17803		.638	−0.9218	0.5657
	Other	0.69091*		.014	0.1430	1.2389
Junior high school teacher	Elementary school teacher	−0.21684		.418	−0.7429	0.3092
	Senior high school teacher	0.54208		.101	−0.1055	1.1896
	Support staff	0.62222		.337	−0.6508	1.8953
	Administrator	−0.39487		.354	−1.2311	0.4413
	Other	0.47407		.164	−0.1940	1.1421
Senior high school teacher	Elementary school teacher	−0.75891*		.005	−1.2817	−0.2361
	Junior high school teacher	−0.54208		.101	−1.1896	0.1055
	Support staff	0.08015		.901	−1.1915	1.3518
	Administrator	−0.93695*		.028	−1.7711	−0.1028
	Other	−0.06800		.841	−0.7334	0.5974
Support staff	Elementary school teacher	−0.83906		.175	−2.0534	0.3753
	Junior high school teacher	−0.62222		.337	−1.8953	0.6508
	Senior high school teacher	−0.08015		.901	−1.3518	1.1915
	Administrator	−1.01709		.147	−2.3944	0.3602
	Other	−0.14815		.820	−1.4304	1.1341
Administrator	Elementary school teacher	0.17803		.638	−0.5657	0.9218
	Junior high school teacher	0.39487		.354	−0.4413	1.2311
	Senior high school teacher	0.93695*		.028	0.1028	1.7711
	Support staff	1.01709		.147	−0.3602	2.3944
	Other	0.86895*		.045	0.0188	1.7191
Other	Elementary school teacher	−0.69091*		.014	−1.2389	−0.1430
	Junior high school teacher	−0.47407		.164	−1.1421	0.1940
	Senior high school teacher	0.06800		.841	−0.5974	0.7334
	Support staff	0.14815		.820	−1.1341	1.4304
	Administrator	−0.86895*		.045	−1.7191	−0.0188

*Denotes the mean difference values that are significant.

The post hoc analysis results in Table 6 indicate that elementary school teachers had significantly higher mean satisfaction scores compared to senior high school teachers and educators who selected “other” as their major role in school, with mean differences of .75891 and .69091, respectively. Additionally, administrators had significantly higher mean satisfaction scores than senior high school teachers and educators who selected “other” as their major role in the school, with mean differences of .93695 and .86895, respectively.

Qualitative outcomes

Analysis of qualitative data generated from written survey responses produced three main themes (Table 7): sources of stress among teachers, the impact of the Wellness4Teachers messages on subscribers perceived psychological well-being, and suggestions for improving the Wellness4Teachers program. Several subthemes were also generated from these themes.

Table 7.

Summary of the key qualitative themes/subthemes and representative quotes.

Themes	Subthemes	Quotes
Stress among teachers	Source of stress among teachers	“Teachers experience violence, unrealistic caseloads, lack of compensation, disrespect from many students, families and general public … that influence our mental health and ability to do our job”. “We work in a broken system… and it is my fault I can't control the very system that is causing me stress and poor health… mental and physical”.
	Systemic root causes of stress and anxiety.	“The stress and anxiety are caused by systemic issues, and without fixing the root cause, it's like just putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound when using these coping mechanisms."
	Lack of understanding among authorities/lack of human resources	"When the system you are supporting is broken, and the people in charge add more responsibilities and blame teachers if they are stressed.” “There is a huge lack of understanding from authorities for the stress teachers are under.” “There are not enough support staff for the number of complex needs and children with learning differences. The responsibilities of classroom teachers and learning center teachers are increasing, and yet support is being taken away”.
	Time pressures and constraints.	"I am so overwhelmed and busy with everything else going on right now that I did not have the time or emotional capacity to use this service to its fullest.” “I don't always have the time to read the linked articles, so having the website or Google Docs or Google Classroom would help. Scrolling in my phone is not efficient to find a post”. “As helpful as it is, some days it just felt like another thing on an endless “To do” list.” “It is a fact that as teachers’ we are not being provided with enough time to keep pace with the amount of paperwork assigned to us, never mind the fact that the paperwork feels purposeless as it doesn't result in additional support for students or teachers."
Impact of the Wellness4Teachers program	Positive impact	"This service has been the single most important thing in my life, it has formed part of my mental health strategy, and I depend upon it every single day.” “ I love this service, the messages come right when I need them most and I look forward to them every day to help my mental health.” “I appreciate messages that are affirming and hopeful and that make me valued as an older teacher.” “It has helped me through work-related depression and professional burnout and has allowed me to seek, find help and support and successfully return to full-time teaching!” “I didn't think this approach would work, but the daily message over time helped get me to a place where I valued affirmations, strategies, and words of wisdom.” “The messages helped me to stay inspired, focused, calm, and confident every day.” “The messages always made me do a reality check.” “This program is a daily reminder of all the things I learned in therapy and have promised myself to keep doing while caring for myself.” “- I love it - I enjoy reading the messages and sharing the actions/affirmations with friends
	Positive impact	(not just teachers!).” “- I have started “pinning” my favourite quotes - I enjoy the articles attached so I can explore a topic further”
	Supportive resource	“I shared it with my other teacher friends and family. It has truly been a life preserver for me”. “like a little pep talk for the day: I find them to be great reminders without minimizing problems."
Suggestions for improving the Wellness4Teachers program	Add more Embedded web links with additional information	“Perhaps include links to the quote that provides more information on the topic at hand or additional supports for that area or tip of wellness.” “Teach about what parts of the brain are affected for people with depression. Teach about different types of therapy, etc.” “If you can, provide ideas for a nice literature that might help with positive mental health practices and self-care strategies.” “Perhaps including resources that teachers can share with their students as well, or lesson ideas that explore well-being would be something others want too.” “More examples of guided meditation or progressive muscle relaxation, maybe lesson plans on SEL I could use that would benefit me and my students, specific actions I can take with my employer."
	Reduce the frequency of embedded links	“Consider “extra info” once or twice a week only.” “I preferred the days when the messages were short and without a link to read more."
	Program message/diversification and scheduling	“Have messages that aren't always related directly to the school context/environment. More mental health suggestions in general”. “I would love to see some items more Administrator-specific. As I am an Admin and don't often teach students (or do so infrequently)”. “It was very beneficial. The messages were very succinct and encouraging. That is all we usually need on busy days.” “The comments and links were both helpful. The factual notes were linked to wellness encouragement and choices for me.” “Sometimes the suggestions involve too many steps or too much effort. I would prefer more positive affirmations.” “Rotating your topics in a consistent way. For example: Monday and Tuesday- anxiety message, Wednesday and Thursday- depression message, Friday and Saturday- burnout message. You might also have a topic for a week and keep cycling through them."
	Website for the messages and options for journal reflections	"I wish there was a website I could go back to when I need a previous relevant post.” “I don't always have the time to read the linked articles, so having the website or Google Docs or Google Classroom would help. Scrolling in my phone is not efficient to find a post”. “I'm wondering if there was a way to create a journal of reflections as I read the posts that could serve as a reflection at the end of every month to give me a way to look back at the things that helped or also what were my challenges."
	Preference for receipt of messages	“Would you consider a message every other day? I'd like a bit of time to watch the video/read the provided information to reflect on it and then add it to my journal”. “Every other day or a few times a week. Too much of a good thing makes it less valuable?”. “My suggestion would be to take a break on weekends and holidays. I tend to want to forget about work when I'm not there and would prefer not to have a reminder about it on weekends and holidays”. “I am trying to set boundaries for home and work, and I find the messages on the weekend made me think about work.” “I still would like to receive them during vacations. Winter is hard; I tend to get down and not be active and worry way too much about work. It was good to have a little reminder, and I looked forward to reading the message.”
	Preferred delivery time	"I much prefer getting the text in the morning before school than after school.” “A message at the end of the day would be more beneficial than the beginning of the day, I think.” “Could it be considered that the text be sent earlier in the day?”. “I liked when the messages were being sent at the end of the day to help me wind down and be in the right headspace to go home and be present.” “I preferred when the texts came in the evening."

Stress among teachers

Participants’ qualitative responses highlighted several challenges associated with the teaching profession. Teachers were of the view that the problems associated with the profession are real, multifaceted, and primarily systemic. Some expressed that improving teachers’ psychological well-being would not be possible with the Wellness4Teachers program alone.

Subscribers also believed that to effectively address teacher stress, it is necessary to tackle the root causes of their stress and anxiety, which they identified as systemic issues.

Some teachers also expressed frustration at the lack of understanding among authorities regarding the stress they face and the lack of human resources and available support.

Additionally, some teachers who subscribed to the Wellness4Teachers program expressed concerns about time pressures and constraints. They reported feeling overwhelmed and busy, which prevented them from fully engaging in the program.

Impact of the Wellness4Teachers program on the teachers’ psychological well-being

Educators reported perceiving a positive impact from the Wellness4Teachers program messages about their psychological well-being. Subscribers indicated that the messages benefitted both their professional and personal lives, contributing to their mental health coping strategies.

Educators reported that the messages helped them feel connected to a support system for addressing burnout symptoms, which they felt they might not get anywhere else.

Many teachers reported that the daily messages were a great supportive resource, and hence, they kept all the messages for future reference and to share with other colleagues.

Suggestions for improving the Wellness4Teachers program

Four sub-themes emerged concerning how the Wellness4Teachers program could be improved. These included reviewing the nature and frequency of embedded weblinks, which provided further information, diversifying and simplifying program messages, creating a dedicated program website for housing messages, and allowing flexibility in message delivery times.

Embedded web links with additional information

Many educators appreciated the web links embedded in the text messages (“I love that you have links for further reading”). However, some recommended enhancing the relevance and specificity of embedded web links in text messages to offer supplementary resources for addressing psychological problems.

On the other hand, other subscribers suggested that the program reduce the frequency with which links are embedded in the text messages.

Program message diversification and scheduling

While some subscribers felt that the message content was sufficient, others suggested that the program include more messages unrelated to the classroom context.

Other educators, particularly administrators who teach minimally in the classroom, suggested that some messages be tailored more specifically to them. Some participants recommended including administrator-specific messages.

Subscribers expressed varied opinions regarding the content of the text messages. While some appreciated the messages’ encouraging nature, others preferred more positive affirmations over messages that suggested steps to improve their mental well-being.

Some subscribers suggested that program messages should be topic-based and scheduled or rotated in a consistent way.

Website for the messages and options for journal reflections

Some subscribers suggested creating a program website where the daily supportive text messages could be hosted and made accessible for those who want to revisit them. Some subscribers proposed adding a feature for journal reflections on the daily messages to assist them in identifying what has helped, or beneficial aspects, along with areas they have experienced difficulty.

Preference for frequency and day/time for delivery of the messages

Subscribers expressed mixed opinions on how often they preferred to receive messages, with many satisfied with receiving messages daily. Those who preferred less frequent message delivery provided various reasons and suggestions.

Some subscribers suggested pausing message delivery on weekends or during school vacations, while others preferred to receive messages consistently throughout the year. Those who favored pausing messages cited reasons such as not wanting reminders about work during these times, as reflected in the quotes in Table 7.

On the other hand, those who preferred to continue receiving messages during vacations expressed that the messages contributed to supporting their mental health during these breaks.

Regarding their preferred delivery time for messages, some subscribers favored mornings, while others preferred late afternoons and evenings.

Discussion

This study assessed subscribers’ experience and satisfaction with Wellness4Teachers, the daily supportive text messaging program. Educators face a high prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression, necessitating interventions to support teachers in effectively fulfilling their professional roles.¹ In this study, educators reported that the Wellness4Teachers text messages helped them cope with stress (307, 68.2%), anxiety (284, 63.1%), depression (233, 51.8%), and loneliness (193, 42.9%). These findings align with studies of other supportive text messaging programs like MoreGoodDays, Text4Mood, Text4Hope, and the Text4PTSI programs, all launched in Alberta, Canada to address psychological problems in specific populations.^21,22,33,37 Thus, findings from this study expand the literature supporting the use of Wellness4Teachers as an effective tool for addressing educators’ psychological issues. In terms of cost-benefits assessment, it costs less than 20 Canadian dollars to send daily supportive text messages to educators for six months, relative to 1200 Canadian dollars minimum for 12 sessions of face-to-face CBT.³⁸ This suggested that Wellness4Teachers may be more cost-effective when compared to face-to-face CBT, Additionally, the Wellness4Teqachers messages can instantly reach thousands of subscribers, making them easily scalable and accessible. Furthermore, given there are no waitlists and no geographical barriers, Wellness4Teachers has the potential to reach subscribers in hard-to-reach locations compared to face-to-face CBT, which is human resource intensive, often hindered by geographic access barriers and often have several weeks or months of the waitlist for intake. Notwithstanding the potential cost-benefits and ready accessibility, a head-to-head randomized controlled trial would be needed to assess the actual cost-effectiveness of the Wellness4Teachers program in comparison to face-to-face CBT for addressing anxiety and depression symptoms among educators.

It is noteworthy, however, that only 193 (42.9%) subscribers reported that the messages helped them cope with loneliness, which contrasts with the 70.3% young adults who subscribed to the MoreGoodDays program who reported such benefits. This difference may stem from distinct challenges faced by teachers and the youth, as well as differing support needs within each group. This study’s qualitative result highlights several issues teachers face, the most significant of which is related to students’ behavior and systems issues. It is possible that teachers derive support from each other and their unions so far as these challenges are concerned. Thus, the lower percentage of those who felt the Wellness4Teachers program helped address loneliness compared to the youth who may not have had support systems other than the MoreGoodDays program. Concerning coping with loneliness, findings from this study appear better aligned with those obtained for public safety personnel, where 54% of the participants reported that the Text4PTSI program messages helped them cope with loneliness.²¹ The better alignment between these two studies may result from similar working conditions and social support available to teachers and public safety personnel compared to youth.

There is paucity of literature on digital health interventions that are specifically designed and implemented to address mental health problems in teachers. In one review of published literature it was reported that none of the 11 studies on digital health interventions reviewed focused on teachers’ mental health.³⁹ For instances, an online mental health role-play simulation for elementary school teachers was designed to help teachers detect and assist students experiencing psychological distress.⁴⁰ Another digital program, Kognito's At-Risk for Elementary School Educators, is a brief, interactive web-based training program that uses a simulation-based approach to improve school staff's knowledge and skills in supporting pupil mental health.⁴¹ Other school-based digital interventions targeting teachers, like the online mindfulness-enhanced courses showed a significant decrease in perceived stress and negative emotion although it required time to complete the course.⁴² Thus, to the best of our knowledge, the Wellness4Teachers program is the first digital initiative specifically designed to address mental health challenges and promote the wellbeing of teachers, while effectively overcoming the barrier of time constraints.

Self-efficacy and social support have been reported to predict changes in anxiety among teachers.⁴³ Stress arising from inadequate administrative support and inference of educators’ responsibility from the administration are significant factors that have been independently associated with increased levels of anxiety and depression among educators.⁴⁴ Therefore, support for teachers is crucial for ensuring their effective delivery of the curriculum and engagement with students. Our study found that 74.4% of respondents felt connected to a support system through Wellness4Teachers messages, and 72.2% felt hopeful about managing their mental health concerns, underscoring the program's importance in providing support for teachers. Similar but slightly higher percentages were reported in evaluations of MoreGoodDays and Text4Mood programs.^22,33

Further, 73.6% of respondents indicated that the messages improved their overall mental well-being, and 59.8% reported enhanced quality of life, with the latter being consistent with findings from the evaluation of the Text4Hope program.³⁷ However, other programs like Text4Mood, MoreGoodDays, and Text4PTSI showed relatively higher percentages in improving quality of life and mental well-being.^21,22,33

Regarding perceptions of the text messages, our study found that 95.4% of educators agreed that text messages were always or often positive, 93.3% found them always or often affirmative, 89% considered them always or often succinct, and 82.3% found them relevant. Moreover, 95.3% often or always read the messages, with 76.7% indicating they read and took time to reflect on the messages. These high endorsement rates suggest that the messages were widely accepted by educators and can be used alone or in conjunction with other programs, or can complement other interventions for supporting educators’ mental well-being. Qualitative feedback also highlighted the acceptability of the daily messages. However, some subscribers offered suggestions for improving the program message content and creating a program website where the text messages could be hosted. Overall, the Wellness4Teachers program demonstrates positive impacts on educators’ mental health, affirmed by high satisfaction and acceptability among subscribers.

The post hoc analysis revealed statistically significant differences in satisfaction between Alberta and Nova Scotia (p < .001) and Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador (p = .002), with Nova Scotian educators being less satisfied with the Wellness4Teachers program than the other two provinces. One possible explanation could be that teachers in Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador face heightened burnout, stress, and other psychological challenges, making text messaging support more beneficial for their psychological well-being. This explanation is, however, not supported by findings from a recent Canadian study, which reported varying levels of emotional exhaustion among educators in these provinces: 83.1% in Alberta, 77.5% in Nova Scotia, and 65.7% in Newfoundland and Labrador.⁶ Another possible explanation is that teachers in Nova Scotia may need more support for their psychological well-being than what was provided through the Wellness4Teachers program, which leads to relatively lesser satisfaction. Additionally, although there is gender imbalance among the study participants, this is not unusual as the teaching profession in Canada is disproportionately made up of females.⁴⁵ However, there were slightly more male (13.7%) participants in Nova Scotia compared to the other provinces.⁶ The results, therefore, emphasize the increased tendency for females to participate and report higher satisfaction with the text messaging program than males.^37,46

This study also found that elementary school teachers showed significantly higher satisfaction with the Wellness4Teachers program compared to senior high school teachers and those in “other” roles. Previous studies indicate that lower-grade teachers often perceive their work environment as more stressful compared to their upper-grade counterparts.⁴⁷ This suggests that elementary teachers experiencing higher stress levels might find the Wellness4Teachers program more supportive of their psychological well-being. Generally, teachers work several additional hours without pay. Elementary school teachers in particular may take on many additional roles. For instance, it's been suggested that elementary school teachers are more likely to take on the role of semi-parents.² A study among elementary and junior high school teachers concluded that reducing overtime work irrespective of work types was vital in mitigating psychological stress reactions for teachers.⁴⁸ Thus, with possibly increased stress and other psychological issues due to increased work demand, elementary school teachers may need increased psychological support, and Wellness4Teachers program might have been perceived to provide this much-needed support, leading to higher satisfaction scores among these teachers.

Similarly, administrators were significantly more satisfied with the Wellness4Teachers program than senior high school teachers and those in “other” roles. This could be attributed to administrators’ satisfaction in supporting teachers’ psychological well-being, as they bear responsibility for ensuring the school system runs effectively and teachers are supported. Studies have linked teacher stress to increased absenteeism and sick leave, with those with low job support taking increased sick leave days,⁴⁹ adversely impacting students’ learning.⁵⁰ Consequently, the increased satisfaction among administrators might be due to the provision of support for teachers, potentially leading to improved student learning. Additionally, support for teachers’ wellbeing may also decrease the tendency for teachers to take increased sick days. A recent study reported that teachers who normally take increased sick days are likely to exhibit high stress, emotional exhaustion, likely GAD, low resilience, and likely MDD than educators with no sick days.⁵¹

The stress educators experience contributes to burnout, with job demands significantly influencing stress levels.^1,52 Qualitative responses provided by subscribers highlighted various challenges teachers face, including workload and time constraints, which, for some, hindered full participation in the Wellness4Teachers program. The demanding nature of teachers’ work extends beyond the classroom, involving lesson preparation and student assessments.² Parallel research has also reported workload and classroom management as being associated with teachers’ stress, leading to burnout, low job satisfaction, and poor health.¹

Based on their qualitative feedback, it is clear that many subscribers perceived the diverse challenges they experience within education as substantial, and deeply rooted in systemic issues. Several subscribers shared that improving teachers’ psychological well-being cannot solely rely on the Wellness4Teachers program. A broader context of entrenched systemic challenges offers additional compelling reasons for developing effective interventions that can effectively contribute to supporting teachers’ mental health. In addition to addressing geographical and time barriers, interventions should not only focus on overcoming the geographical and time barrier but aim to be responsive to teachers’ preferences. Teachers suggested personalized, customizable options such as choosing message delivery days and times, duration of the program and pausing during weekends or vacations. Ongoing advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) could be explored to enable tailored messaging based on individual needs, preferences, and responses to improve engagement and relevance for users.⁵³ The development and implementation of personalization features, such as the ability for subscribers to choose the time of day to receive the messages, their preferred frequency of message delivery (e.g., once daily or twice daily) would enhance the program as indicated in the feedback from subscribers. Additionally, to enhance program accessibility and effectiveness in supporting teachers’ well-being, features that allowed teachers to pause and restart the program, daily feedback on program messages, reflective journaling, and a dedicated program webpage for easy access to previous messages were recommended by subscribers.

Personalization and customization have been suggested as vital tools in the delivery of digital intervention programs. When designing digital implementation support systems, it 's essential to consider providers’ motivation to use these systems, degree of allowable user customization, and preferred modes of delivery for each strategy.⁵⁴

Study strengths, limitations, and future directions

The self-subscription nature of the program has provided the opportunity for real-world evaluation of subscriber satisfaction with the Wellness4Teachers program which is a major strength of the study.

In terms of study limitations, consistent with the gender imbalance typically seen in the teaching profession favoring females, the majority (88.3%) of the study participants were female. However, this percentage may not accurately represent the demographic makeup across the three provinces studied.⁴⁵ In addition, other factors such as age distribution and ratio of urban and rural teachers may differ from overall teacher demographics in the three provinces. Thus, our study findings may not be generalizable to all teachers in Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. In addition, the response rate at six months was low although it is not uncommon for web-based surveys. Surveys distributed via SMS text messages are less likely to retain participants for follow-up assessment compared to paper-based surveys.^15,55

Again, participants could opt out of the program at any time point making it challenging to calculate the response rate at six weeks and three months because we are unable to assess how many participants receive the web-based survey or how many signed out of the program at these time points. There was also no control group to enable comparison betweenWellness4Teachers subscribers’ and nonsubscribers’ perceived satisfaction and receptivity of the program.

Further, although the survey questions used in this study have been employed in evaluating subscriber satisfaction with similar supportive text messaging programs such as Text4Mood, Text4Hope, MoreGoodDays, and Text4PTSI, they have not been formally validated. Finally, the lack of availability of demographic and work-related information for subscribers of Wellness4Teachers who did not complete any program surveys presents a potential bias for this study, as it is unknown if the program satisfaction results achieved in this study can be generalized to these participants. Despite these limitations, this study provides valuable insights into educators’ qualitative and quantitative satisfaction with the Wellness4Teachers program. These insights can inform its implementation as a supplementary tool for addressing psychological issues among teachers. Future studies should consider the inclusion of a control group or waitlist design to ascertain causal inferences. Future studies should also consider designs that include rigorous power analysis, data imputation strategies to reduce attrition, subgroup analysis to examine potential differential effects by teacher characteristics and multilevel modeling to account for nested data structure.

Conclusion

Educators shape students’ future by imparting knowledge through the curriculum and providing guidance. Therefore, the psychological well-being of teachers is particularly essential for the common good of the general population. However, the problem of time constraints, cost, and geographical barriers may hinder educators from accessing the psychological interventions they need. This study's findings show high satisfaction and receptivity for the Wellness4Teachers program among educators in the three participating provinces.

Subscribers also offered valuable suggestions for improving the program, which could be achieved through personalization and artificial intelligence. Consequently, this program may be suitable as an add-on to support teachers’ psychological well-being as it also offsets the problem of time constraints, cost, and geographical barriers to accessing psychological support. Promoting and maintaining positive mental health among educators will ensure teachers perform their role at their optimum ability and students can achieve their full potential.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

Our sincere gratitude goes to the Edmonton Catholic School Board, the Alberta Teachers Association, the Nova Scotia Teachers Union, and the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers Union for helping to promote the Wellness4Teachers program among their teachers. Many thanks also to all the teachers who took the time to complete the survey.

Author contributions

Conceptualization: VIOA; methodology: BA, PB, YW, and VIOA; formal analysis: BA; resources: VIOA; data curation: BA; writing‒original draft preparation: BA; writing‒review and editing: BA, PB, RLD, YW, and VIOA; supervision: YW; project administration: BA and VIOA; funding acquisition: VIOA. All authors are in agreement with the published version of the manuscript.

Data availability statement

Data for the study is available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Approval for the study was granted by the University of Alberta Ethics Review Board (Pro00117558) and the Dalhousie University Human Research Ethics Review Board (REB # 2023-6840). Owing to the anonymous nature of the online survey the review boards waived written informed consent from the participants. Implied informed consent was approved, where participants’ completion of the online survey indicated their consent.

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the RBC Foundation, Alberta Mental Health Foundation (grant number N/A).

ORCID iD

Belinda Agyapong

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