A hybrid approach for analyzing and assessing resilience engineering in healthcare

Abstract

Background

Today, researchers try to recognize and improve the weaknesses of complex systems using resilience engineering (RE) principles.

Objective

This descriptive-analytical epidemiological study aims to evaluate the resilience performance of the hospital staff based on the principles of RE to enhance personnel performance.

Method

A questionnaire containing 27 questions in four areas (anticipation, monitoring, response, and learning) was designed based on Hellangel's model and field surveys to collect data from nurses and managers of various wards of five hospitals. The face validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed by 16 professors and some individuals from the statistical sample.A hybrid approach utilizing entropy, TOPSIS, and DEA was employed in the Excel environment to process the collected data.

Results

The results of the entropy method indicated that the responding and monitoring indicators, with values of 0.29 and 0.23, respectively, had the greatest impact on the resilience performance of the studied units. The outcomes of TOPSIS revealed that hospital D possesses the highest level of resilience. According to the DEA method, the first, second, and fifth efficient units were associated with hospital B.

Conclusion

By evaluating the cornerstone of resilience, this study's findings empower nurses and managers to mitigate the impacts of stress, emotional exhaustion, and burnout, fostering work interactions and improving their performance in the face of workplace challenges. The main limitation of the study was the spread of COVID-19, which impeded the training of personnel in the field of RE and its indicators, as well as the distribution, collection, and completion of questionnaires, along with challenging access to personnel.