Working nurses' empathy with patients in public hospitals

• Published in: Revista latino-americana de enfermagem Vol. 31; p. e3968
• Main Authors: Pontón, Yolanda Dávila, Narváez, Víctor Patricio Díaz, Andrade, Bernardo Montero, Terán, Joseline Janeth López, Reyes-Reyes, Alejandro, Calzadilla-Núñez, Aracelis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese; Spanish
• Published: Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto / Universidade de São Paulo 04-08-2023
• Subjects: Artículo Original
• ISSN: 0104-1169; 1518-8345
• DOI: 10.1590/1518-8345.6591.3968

OBJECTIVEto determine the levels of empathy in professional nurses of a high-complexity hospital, to relate age to empathy (and each one of its dimensions), and to establish if there are differences between these levels according to the type of working schedules.METHODcomparative, correlational and cross-sectional design. The sample used (n=271) constituted 40.9% of the total number of nursing professionals. Psychometric properties of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy for Health Professionals were studied. Descriptive statistics were calculated: mean and standard deviation. The association between empathy and age was estimated using regression equations and statistical significance of the regression coefficients, after evaluating the type of curve using variance analysis.RESULTSthe underlying model of three dimensions of empathy was identified. The values of the descriptive statistics observed were relatively low in empathy and its dimensions. Empathy levels were not associated with the age range. No differences in empathy were found between the types of work schedules. Variability was found in the dimensions: "compassionate care" and "Walking on the patient's shoes".CONCLUSIONthese results show that the levels of empathy observed may imply a deficient performance in empathetic care for patients. (1) The levels of empathy are low in the nursing professionals studied. (2) These levels are not associated with age and type of work performed. (3) Low levels of empathy could imply a negative alteration of humanized attention.