From Stress-to-strength: Initial quantitative results from University of Liverpool UG Therapeutic Radiography students within a cross-continent study on resilience and patient-centred care

Oliver, Lauren, Chwyl, Brian, Dewhurst, Jen, Weber, Dennis, Porritt, Bridget and Kirby, Mike ORCID: 0000-0001-9765-5641 (2026) From Stress-to-strength: Initial quantitative results from University of Liverpool UG Therapeutic Radiography students within a cross-continent study on resilience and patient-centred care 12 February 2026, London.

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Introduction ‘Resilience’ is considered fundamental to safeguarding healthcare professionals against burnout; something which negatively impacts retention and patient experiences. For therapeutic radiographers (TRs), risk factors include staffing shortages, emotional exhaustion, and personal performance(1); with research showing resilience development a way to combat these. Both qualified and student TRs are vital for good healthcare experiences of cancer patients; however, little research has explored links between resilience and patient-centred care (PCC). This cross-continental study was designed between our Universities of Liverpool (UoL) and Alberta to examine potential links between resilience and PCC for TR students; the findings hopefully providing international perspectives of students’ self-reported perceptions, informing curriculum delivery and student support provision. The study is ongoing; here, initial quantitative results from Liverpool undergraduate cohorts being reported. Methods Study aims, methods and survey instruments were designed jointly by both universities. Convenience sampling was used to recruit pre-registration TR students across all UG/PG cohorts, with ethical approval granted by Liverpool University. Using a mixed-methods approach, quantitative data was collected through online surveys using Likert-scales and open-ended questions. Connor-Davidson Resilience Scales (CD-RISC10)(2) were used, whilst PCC was assessed through an adaptation of Alberta’s Voice of Patients approach(3). Qualitative data (under thematic analysis) is being collected through focus groups. Only sample descriptive statistics are presented in this abstract for quantitative results. Results Cumulative results - e.g. summing ‘True nearly all the time+often true’ [TROF] for the CD-RISC10 questions; and ‘always+usually’ [ALUS] for the PCC questions are presented. For CD-RISC10 questions, the minimum TROF score for the ‘flexibility’ measure (ability to adapt/bounce back) was 72.2%; for ‘optimism’, TROF scores were 44.4%, 52.8% and 88.9% - the highest for the question regarding ‘achieving goals in the face of obstacles’. For ‘regulating emotion’ (ability to handle unpleasant or painful feelings), the TROF score was 52.8%; just over 10% considering it ‘rarely true’ and none for ‘not true at all’. For PCC, ALUS scores were 100% for treating patients with courtesy and listening carefully to them. Regarding ‘including patients’ families in decisions’ and ‘coordinating with other healthcare providers’, ALUS scores were 83.3% and 86.1% respectively. Conclusions Although this study is on-going across all cohorts at both universities, initial Liverpool results show high degrees of resilience for certain measures; with ‘optimism’ and ‘regulating emotion’ showing more challenging results at this stage. Perceptions of PCC were very high across all questions, showing a high patient focus and desire for patient care throughout. 1. Porritt, BM. “The Lived Experience of the Student Therapeutic Radiographers When Caring for Patients with Cancer in the Clinical Placement Setting….” University of Salford, UK; 2023. See www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/lived-experience-student-therapeutic-radiographer/docview/3171104292/se-2?accountid=12117 2. Campbell-Sills, L and Stein, MB. “Psychometric analysis and refinement of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC): validation of a 10-item measure of resilience” J Trau Stress 20(6):1019-1028, 2007 3. Alberta Health Services (AHS). “The Voice of Patients: Patient Experience/Satisfaction Surveys Core Questions”2011. See https://albertahealthservices.ca/assets/info/res/if-res-rpi-patient-experience-core-questions.pdf

Item Type:	Presentation Material
Divisions:	Faculty of Health & Life Sciences Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Population Health Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Population Health > School of AHPs and Nursing
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	16 Feb 2026 16:06
Last Modified:	16 Feb 2026 16:06
DOI:	10.13140/RG.2.2.24587.35363
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3197043
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