Resilience as a mediator of the relationship between perceived social support and public health emergency-related post-traumatic growth among medical staff

As central participants in Public Health Emergency (PHE), medical staffs may face positive changes, such as post-traumatic growth, while being traumatised. However, previous research remains deficient in factors influencing Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG). The aim of this paper is to examine how resilience mediates the relationship between perceived social support and PTG among medical staff. This cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2023 among 730 healthcare workers at two tertiary-grade hospitals in China, utilizing random sampling. We employed descriptive statistics, univariate analyses, and structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the mediating role of psychological resilience among these healthcare professionals. The mean PTG score among medical staff was 60.48 (SD = 24.49). The direct impact of perceived social support on PTG was significant (0.218, 95% CI [0.083, 0.361], P < 0.001), constituting 49.98% of the total effect. Moreover, the indirect impact of perceived social support on PTG via resilience was also significant (0.218, 95% CI [0.119, 0.320], P < 0.001), accounting for 50.02% of the total effect. These findings underscore the importance of enhancing perceived social support and resilience in fostering post-traumatic growth among healthcare workers facing public-health emergencies. It suggests that interventions should focus on increasing perceived social support and resilience to foster positive psychological changes and improve the quality of healthcare services.