The PreBurn project brings together experts and service providers from across Europe to develop support resources that help staff working in autism services maintain their mental health and careers.
Burnout affects quality of care for autistic individuals
Support staff working directly with autistic individuals often experience high levels of burnout, as their roles can pose substantial and constant challenges. This burnout not only affects the wellbeing of the staff themselves, it has important implications for the wellbeing of autistic people, as it influences the quality of care and support that autistic service users receive.
Training modules for caregivers
PreBurn aims to develop a Training Module and Digital Self-Training Tool, in order to prevent and manage burnout in mental health and care professionals working with autistic individuals.
Developing evidence-based tools and policies to address burnout
A survey will be conducted to identify risk factors for burnout among mental health and care professionals. Insights from the survey will inform the development of the PreBurn Training Module and a Digital Self-Training Tool (MOOC). These adult education resources will then be piloted and evaluated to assess their usefulness and impact. In addition, participatory policymaking exercises will be carried out with staff in four European countries to formulate policy recommendations aimed at further improving safety and support for both staff and service users.
As lead partner in the project, the Athena Institute will manage the work undertaken by all partners, and play a central role in designing the Training Module, piloting and evaluating all resources in the Netherlands, and the participatory policymaking processes.
Outcomes
The project kicked off in March 2026 with a consortium meeting in Athena, Greece. See the press release in English here and Dutch here.
