Self-worth and bonding emotions are related to well-being in health-care providers: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Interacting with patients can elicit a myriad of emotions in health-care providers. This may result in satisfaction or put providers at risk for stress-related conditions such as burnout. The present study attempted to identify emotions that promote provider well-being. Following eudaimonic models of well-being, we tested whether certain types of emotions that reflect fulfilment of basic needs (self-worth, bonding with patients) rather than positive emotions in general (as suggested by hedonic models) are linked to well-being. Specifically, we hypothesized that well-being is associated with positive emotions directed at the self, which reflect self-worth, and positive as well as negative emotions (e.g., worry) directed at the patient, which reflect bonding. However, we expected positive emotions directed at an object/situation (e.g., curiosity for a treatment) to be unrelated to well-being, because they do not reflect fulfilment of basic needs. METHODS: Fifty eight physicians, nurses, and psychotherapists participated in the study. First, in qualitative interviews, they reported their emotions directed at the self, the patient, or an object/situation during distressing interactions with patients. These emotions were categorised into positive emotions directed towards the self, the patient, and an object/situation, and negative emotions directed towards the patient that reflect bonding. Second, providers completed questionnaires to assess their hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. The well-being scores of providers who did and did not experience these emotions were compared. RESULTS: Providers who experienced positive emotions directed towards the self or the patient had higher well-being than those who did not. Moreover, for the first time, we found evidence for higher well-being in providers reporting negative patient-directed emotions during distressing interactions. There was no difference between providers who did and did not experience positive object/situation-directed emotions. CONCLUSIONS: These findings may point towards the importance of "eudaimonic" emotions rather than just positive emotions in interactions with patients. Emotions such as contentment with oneself, joy for the patient's improvement, and, notably, grief or worry for the patient may build a sense of self-worth and strengthen bonding with the patient. This may explain their association with provider well-being.

Emotion Transfer, Emotion Regulation, and Empathy-Related Processes in Physician-Patient Interactions and Their Association With Physician Well-Being: A Theoretical Model.

Physicians experience many emotionally challenging situations in their professional lives, influencing their emotional state through emotion contagion or social appraisal processes. Successful emotion regulation is crucial to sustain health, enable well-being, foster resilience, and prevent burnout or compassion fatigue. Despite the alarmingly high rate of stress-related disorders in physicians, affecting not only physician well-being, but also outcomes such as physician performance, quality of care, or patient satisfaction, research on how to deal with emotionally challenging situations in physicians is lacking. Based on extant literature, the present article proposes a theoretical model depicting emotions, emotion regulation, and empathy-related processes and their relation to well-being in provider-client interactions. This model serves as a basis for future research and interventions aiming at improving physician well-being and professional functioning. As a first step, interviews with 21 psychiatrists were conducted. Results of qualitative and initial quantitative analyses provided detailed descriptions of the model's components confirming its usefulness for detecting mechanisms linking emotion regulation and well-being in psychiatrist-patient interactions. Additionally, results lend preliminary support for the validity of the model, suggesting that successful regulation of emotions (i.e., achieving a desired emotional state) elicited by cyclical transfer processes in provider-client interactions is associated with both short- and long-term well-being and resilience. Furthermore, empathy-related emotions and their regulation seem to be linked to well-being. Based on the results of the present study, a prospective longitudinal study is under preparation, which is intended to inform effective interventions targeting emotion transfer, empathy-related processes, and emotion regulation in physicians' professional lives. The model and results are also potentially applicable to other health care and social services providers.