The Effect of Gratitude on Psychological and Subjective Well-being among Hospital Staff

Aim: Mental health is especially important in some occupations with harsh work conditions requiring strong personal and mental capacities. Healthcare related are jobs among such occupations. Therefore, psychological and subjective well-being is especially important in staff working in the healthcare sector. The aim of the present study is to assess whether gratitude training affects psychological and subjective well-being in hospital staffs. Methods: This semi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test was performed in 2014 in 5 hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The total of 70 staff was randomly divided into two groups by convenience sampling method, using random block allocation. Afterwards, the participants in the experiment group had 10 group sessions of 90 minutes of gratitude training, while the control group did not receive any interventions. All participants completed Ryff‟s Scale of Psychological Well Being, Subjective Happiness Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and Gratitude Questionnaire. The data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance (Covariance) and SPSS software (version 18). Findings: According to research results, there was no significant difference between the mean scores of psychological well-being, domains of psychological well-being, subjective well-being, and gratitude between the two groups at baseline. Gratitude training significantly affected all domains of psychological well-being (except for autonomy) and subjective well-being. Conclusion: The findings suggest that gratitude training would be effective in enhancing psychological well-being and subjective well-being. These findings were discussed in the context of developing effective gratitude training for enhancing the psychological and subjective well-being.