Effect of an emotional intelligence educational program on perceived and occupational stress of health personnel: a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background coping with occupational stress is vital for health personnel to communicate more with patients and ultimately the interactions between patients and providers impact the quality of care. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of the emotional intelligence training program (EITP) on occupational and perceived stress in health personnel. Methods A pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial study was conducted in Andimeshk Health Centers, located in the northwest Khuzestan province between January and March 2019. Absolute change from baseline to final emotional intelligence (EI), occupational stress (OS), and perceived stress (PS), were measured. Standard questionnaires including Brad-berry & Graves Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (2004), HSE (UK Health and Safety Executive) Standard Occupational Stress Questionnaire, and Brad-berry's, Cohen's perceived stress, were used. The in-person training program includes two workshops (duration = 6 hours) and a 30-day follow-up. Results Out of 80 health personnel, 75 fulfilled the study requirement. (n = 37 allocated into the experiment vs n = 38 control). Baseline emotional intelligence in the experiment group was improved by about 1.16 units versus a non-significant change in the control group (=-1.21). At baseline, there was no significant difference between the experiment and control groups in terms of mean score of OS and PS (p > 0.05). We have observed a non-significant improvement in the experiment group in terms of OS and PS. However, the score changes in the experiment group were significantly higher than in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion We have shown emotional intelligence improvement could have a significant impact on stress management as so recommended to include EI training in the annual training programs. Trial registration: RCT: IRCT20160418027449N4 Date: 25/02/2019