Authors (including presenting author) :
Poon WYV, Li J, Tam WYK
Affiliation :
Oasis – Center for Personal Growth & Crisis Intervention, Corporate Clinical Psychology Services, Hospital Authority
Keyword 2: :
Communication
Keyword 5: :
Staff Wellbeing
Keyword 6: :
Positive Relationships
Introduction :
While open communication and teamwork are encouraged within HA, staff often prioritize delivering medical care, and the importance of communication can sometimes be overlooked. Staff may also hold the internalized belief that challenges should be managed independently, perceiving help-seeking behaviors negatively. Given that healthcare delivery is inherently collaborative, interpersonal resilience—the capacity to connect, communicate, and seek support effectively—is vital to staff well-being and high-quality patient care. This highlights the need for targeted interventions that strengthened interpersonal resilience skills among HA staff. The Tough Minds Tender Hearts (TMTH) resilience program is a structured, skills-based curriculum designed to enhance HA staff resilience through different core competencies that span personal coping skills and relational skills. Module 3, the Positive Connection module, focuses specifically on communication, emphasizing empathy, assertive communication, joy multiplier and altruism. Through tailored experiential activities, this module seeks to enhance positive relationships, improve team and patient interactions, and foster a mindset that values connection in healthcare practice.
Objectives :
To investigate the effectiveness of resilient communication skills in enhancing resilience and well-being of HA staff, and to explore the potential for broader application in HA.
Methodology :
TMTH participants who took part in Module 3 were invited to complete pre- and post-questionnaires assessing psychological distress, resilience, well-being, subjective knowledge of resilience skills, and practice levels. 9 classes were conducted between August 2022 and November 2024. Paired-sample t-tests were performed on the pre- and post-data.
Result & Outcome :
Quantitative analysis revealed improvements across individual and interpersonal psychological dimensions. Participants (N = 130) showed a significant increase in resilience (t(129) = -4.689, p < .001), supporting that resilience can be cultivated through targeted communication skills training. Happiness increased significantly (t(96) = -3.123, p < .01), while loneliness decreased (t(96) = 3.733, p < .001), suggesting improvements in both general well-being and perceived interpersonal connections. Participants further reported gains in resilient communication skills knowledge (t(129) = -13.741, p < .001). There was also a significant increase in proportion who applied the learnt resilience skills in daily life (123) = -6.694, p < .001). The results were consistent across various staff grades, indicating high applicability across the HA workforce and validating the effectiveness of communication-focused resilience training in fostering resilience and well-being among HA staff.
