title: The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Conditions of Trust among Leaders at the Kentucky Department for Public Health.
abstract: There has been limited leadership research on emotional intelligence and trust in governmental public health settings. The purpose of this study was to identify and seek to understand the relationship between trust and elements of emotional intelligence, including stress management, at the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH). The KDPH serves as Kentucky's state governmental health department. KDPH is led by a Commissioner and composed of seven primary divisions and 25 branches within those divisions. The study was a non-randomized cross-sectional study utilizing electronic surveys that evaluated conditions of trust among staff members and emotional intelligence among supervisors. Pearson correlation coefficients and corresponding p-values are presented to provide the association between emotional intelligence scales and the conditions of trust. Significant positive correlations were observed between supervisors' stress management and the staff members' trust or perception of supervisors' loyalty (r = 0.6, p = 0.01), integrity (r = 0.5, p = 0.03), receptivity (r = 0.6, p = 0.02), promise fulfillment (r = 0.6, p = 0.02), and availability (r = 0.5, p = 0.07). This research lays the foundation for emotional intelligence and trust research and leadership training in other governmental public health settings, such as local, other state, national, or international organizations. This original research provides metrics to assess the public health workforce with attention to organizational management and leadership constructs. The survey tools could be used in other governmental public health settings in order to develop tailored training opportunities related to emotional intelligence and trust organizations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management and Policy, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky , Lexington, KY , USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer Redmond
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Knight
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky , Lexington, KY , USA.
authors.forename: Heather M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Bush
authors.affiliation: Georgia Southern University , Statesboro, GA , USA.
authors.forename: William A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Mase
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management and Policy, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky , Lexington, KY , USA.
authors.forename: Martha Cornwell
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Riddell
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky , Lexington, KY , USA.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management and Policy, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky , Lexington, KY , USA ; Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Kentucky , Lexington, KY , USA.
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Holsinger
keywords: emotional intelligence; leadership; public health workforce; stress management; trust
references.citation: J Biomed Inform. 2009 Apr;42(2):377-81
references.pmid: 18929686
references.citation: Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2014 Jan 22;11:6
references.pmid: 24450763
references.citation: Annu Rev Public Health. 2005;26:303-18
references.pmid: 15760291
references.citation: J Public Health Manag Pract. 2007 Jul-Aug;13(4):430-1
references.pmid: 17563635
references.citation: J Public Health Manag Pract. 2004 May-Jun;10(3):186-92
references.pmid: 15253514
references.citation: J Public Health Manag Pract. 2007 Jan-Feb;13(1):80-2
references.pmid: 17149104
references.citation: Harv Bus Rev. 2008 Sep;86(9):74-81, 136
references.pmid: 18777666
references.citation: J Public Health Manag Pract. 2009 Nov;15(6 Suppl):S5-S15
references.pmid: 19829231
references.citation: Annu Rev Psychol. 2008;59:507-36
references.pmid: 17937602
references.citation: Harv Bus Rev. 2009 Jun;87(6):54-61, 113
references.pmid: 19496471