The Relationship between Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence as a Protective Factor for Healthcare Professionals: Systematic Review

Nerea Jiménez-Picón, Macarena Romero-Martín, José Antonio Ponce-Blandón, Lucia Ramirez-Baena, Juan Carlos Palomo-Lara and Juan Gómez-Salgado
Additional contact information
Nerea Jiménez-Picón: Centro Universitario de Enfermería Cruz Roja, University of Seville, 41009 Sevilla, Spain
Macarena Romero-Martín: Department of Nursing, University of Huelva, 21007 Huelva, Spain
José Antonio Ponce-Blandón: Centro Universitario de Enfermería Cruz Roja, University of Seville, 41009 Sevilla, Spain
Lucia Ramirez-Baena: Centro Universitario de Enfermería Cruz Roja, University of Seville, 41009 Sevilla, Spain
Juan Carlos Palomo-Lara: Centro Universitario de Enfermería Cruz Roja, University of Seville, 41009 Sevilla, Spain
Juan Gómez-Salgado: Department of Sociology, Social Work and Public Health, Faculty of Labour Sciences, University of Huelva, 21007 Huelva, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 10, 1-14

Abstract: Emotional intelligence is an essential trait and skill for healthcare professionals. Mindfulness meditation has proved to be effective in increasing the wellbeing of those who practice it, leading to better mental health, self-care and job satisfaction. This paper aims to identify the recent evidence on the relationship between mindfulness and emotional intelligence among healthcare professionals and students. A systematic review was conducted including the databases PubMed, Cinhal, PsycINFO and Web of Science. The main variables were emotional intelligence skills and mindfulness practice. Data were extracted according to the following outcomes: authors, year of publication, country, study design, participants, mindfulness training intervention, tools used in data collection and main results. The following inclusion criteria were applied: peer-reviewed articles; published in English or Spanish; published between 2010 and 2020; quantitative methodology; a study population of healthcare professionals or students; the relationship with the aim of the study. The Joanna Briggs Institute criteria were followed for assessing the methodological quality of the selected studies. Three researchers were involved in the review. After the selection process, 10 studies were selected out of the 197 references initially identified. These studies revealed a positive relationship between mindfulness and emotional intelligence, particularly the capacity to regulate emotions. Furthermore, mindfulness is negatively related to emotional exhaustion. Training interventions based on mindfulness have proved to be useful in promoting emotional balance, emotional awareness, emotional acceptance, emotion recognition, expressive suppression and a reduction in emotional exhaustion. This study could serve as a basis for further research on the benefits of emotional intelligence and practicing mindfulness for the bio-psycho-social welfare of healthcare professionals.

Keywords: emotional intelligence; mindfulness; healthcare professionals; systematic review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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