Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to clarify this by exploring healthcare professionals’ views on the meaning of resilience within their workplace settings – be that primary, secondary or tertiary healthcare settings.

Design: A three-round Delphi study.

Setting and participants: A panel of experts was formed of 30 healthcare professionals (HCP) from across a variety of health care settings within the UAE.

Results: To a large extent the findings of this Delphi Survey reflect the international literature – as there were only minor suggestions for additional elements to be included, most notably Compassionate toward others as a measure of high resilience. Each of the 8 elements that garnered the highest level of consensus amongst the panel have a common theme of relationality. Reaffirming that HCPs level of resilience is largely dependent on the everyday relationships they build within teams they work.

Conclusions: This consensus-based approach for the assessment of the level of resilience of HCP working in the UAE health system represents a first step toward the development of national guidelines for optimizing the health and wellbeing of the nation’s healthcare professionals.

Keywords: Resilience, Healthcare, Burnout, Delphi Study