Abstract
Rationale, aims and objectives: Consistent data demonstrates
negative psychological effects of caregiving on front-line health
professionals. Evidence that psychological resilience factors can help
minimise distress and the potential for low-cost interventions have
created interest in resilience-based development programmes; yet
evidence of perceived value amongst health professionals is lacking.
This study explored health professionals’ experiences and perceptions of
a novel, resilience-based intervention designed to pro-actively prepare
staff for coping with error; to investigate their perceptions of what
resilience meant to them, the relevance of the intervention, and impact
of participation on ability to cope with error.
Method: Semi-structured interviews 4-6 weeks post intervention
with 23 randomly selected participants from seven cohorts (midwives,
paediatricians, obstetrians/gynaecologists, paramedics) and trainees
(physician associates, mammographers, sonographers). Thematic analysis
of interview data.
Findings: Participants reported various interpretations of, and
a shift in perception regarding what the concept of psychological
resilience meant to them and their practice. These included for example,
resilience as a positive or negative concept and their awareness and
response to a range of personal, organisational and system factors
influencing personal resilience. They valued the prophylactic,
clinically relevant, interactive and applied nature of the intervention;
having developed and applied valuable skills beyond the context of
involvement in error, noting that individuals needed to be willing to
explore their own coping mechanisms and human fallibility to gain
maximum benefit. There was also consensus that whilst proactively
developing individual level psychological resilience is important, so
too is addressing the organisational and system factors that affect
staff resilience which are outside individual staff control.
Conclusion: Enhancing resilience appears to be considered
useful in supporting staff to prepare for coping with error and the
wider emotional burden of clinical work, but such interventions require
integration into wider system approaches to reduce the burden of
clinical work for health professionals.
Keywords: Resilience, healthcare professionals, error, coping
intervention
Data availability statement: Data is available on request due
to privacy/ethical restrictions.
Conflict of interest statement: The authors have no conflict of
interest to declare.