Improving the emotional intelligence and resilience of General Practitioners through an online experiential training intervention οn lifestyle change counseling skills in Chronic Respiratory Diseases: Α mixed methods study

Introduction: General practitioners (GPs) often experience high levels of stress and burnout during clinical practice, which can negatively affect their overall well-being, performance, and ability to provide high-quality care to their patients. To address these challenges, it is crucial that GPs have high levels of emotional intelligence (EI) and resilience. However, there is a lack of evidence-based interventions that have been proven to effectively improve these skills among GPs. Therefore, to help GPs cultivate these skills, we developed an Experiential Online Training (EOT) intervention. Consequently, the present study aimed to explore the effectiveness of our intervention in improving GPs’ EI, resilience, and well-being. Methods: This study included 49 GPs from Greece and utilized a convergent mixed-methods approach. The GPs participated in a 25-hour EOT intervention, regarding lifestyle change counseling skills & breathing techniques for self-regulation. The study evaluated changes in EI and resilience of participants, prior to the intervention, immediately after, and three months later. Additionally, the GPs provided written reflections regarding practicing in clinical settings. Results: The findings showed that participants’ EI and resilience significantly increased after the intervention and at 3-month follow-up compared to the pre-intervention measurement. Moreover, GPs reported that after the intervention, they felt more positive, happy, and fulfilled. Furthermore, the convergence of quantitative and qualitative data indicated that participants improved in two areas following the intervention: 1) communication, and 2) confidence, when they interacted with patients from diverse backgrounds. Discussion: The findings of the present study suggest that an EOT intervention which focuses on improving patient-centered communication skills and teaching breathing techniques for self-regulation can improve EI, resilience, and well-being of GPs. Therefore, policymakers could implement such interventions to improve the overall well-being and skills of GPs, and as result, the quality of care they provide.