The mediator role of mindfulness in the relationship between the listening skills and anger management skills of emergency health care professionals.

BACKGROUND: Effective communication plays a crucial role in establishing strong relationships and providing essential support in clinical situations. This study was conducted to investigate the mediator role of mindfulness in the relationship between the listening skills and anger management skills of healthcare professionals working in the emergency department (ED).

METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study, which was conducted with 230 emergency department healthcare professionals (EHCPs) working in adult EDs in Turkey. Sociodemographic Characteristics Data Collection Form, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Listening Skills Assessment Scale (LSAS), and Anger Management Scale (AMS) were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics included frequency and percentage; t test and ANOVA test were used for statistical analyses, as was "Process Macro 3.5 Model 4", which was used to study the effect of mediator variables.

RESULTS: The participants had a mean MAAS score of 57.71 ± 12.38, a mean LSAS score of 45.36 ± 6.23, and a mean AMS score of 17.93 ± 3.39. There were significant positive correlations between LSAS and MAAS (r = 0.197, p < 0.001), between AMS and MAAS (r = 0.233p < 0.001), and between AMS and LSAS r = 0.24p < 0.001). In addition, the process model analysis results supported that MAAS had a partial mediator role in the correlation between LSAS and AMS, and that its indirect effects were predicted by LSAS and AMS. It was determined that 5.75 % of total change on AMS was predicted by LSAS (F = 13.918; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that as the mindfulness level of EHCPs increases, their listening and anger management skills increased. Therefore, reinforcing mindfulness by integrating mindfulness interventions into in-service training and applying strategies that promote EHCPs' listening skills and anger management skills would make it possible to provide quality health care with employees who are more efficient in conflict management and enjoy a higher level of satisfaction.