Abstract
BackgroundEmpathy is described as a core competence of nursing. There is abundant research evidence supporting that empathy varies according to personal characteristics and targeted training. The aim of this study was to characterize non-academic factors (personal and environmental) influencing the development of empathy in undergraduate nursing studies who are not receiving a targeted training in empathetic abilities in their nursing schools.MethodsA cross-sectional study was performed in the three nursing schools located in Cusco city, Peru (two private and one public). The Jefferson Scales of Empathy, Attitudes toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration, and Lifelong Learning, the Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults, and the Scale of Life Satisfaction, were applied as the main measures. Also, information regarding gender, nursing school, and age, were collected. After psychometric properties were assessed, all measures were used in the development of a multivariate regression model to characterize factors of influence in empathy.ResultsIn a sample composed by 700 undergraduate nursing students (72 males and 628 females), a multivariate linear regression model was created. This model explained the 53% of variance of empathy and fitted all conditions necessary for inference estimations. Teamwork abilities, loneliness, age, sex, subjective well-being, and nursing school, appeared as factors influencing the development of empathy in patients’ care.ConclusionsFindings have indicated that, in absence of a targeted training, individual characteristics and characteristics associated with social and family environments play an important role of influence in the development of empathy in nursing students. These findings are also in consonance with others previously reported in different cultural settings including high-, middle- and low-income countries.
Highlights
Empathy has been described as an important component of professionalism in healthcare and especially in thoseBerduzco-Torres et al BMC Nursing (2021) 20:245 of an education that engenders empathic understanding
According to academic achievement, the range of semesters covered in the entire sample corresponded with the complete undergraduate program of nursing (10 semesters) that is offered in Peruvian nursing schools
Differences observed by nursing school suggest that, in the absence of a targeted training in empathy, the social environment surrounding the university acquires an important role of influence in the development of empathy in nursing students
Summary
Empathy has been described as an important component of professionalism in healthcare and especially in thoseBerduzco-Torres et al BMC Nursing (2021) 20:245 of an education that engenders empathic understanding. Recent studies have highlighted that the lack of appropriate support, role modelling, and focused training in Peruvian institutions is associated with no improvement in empathy, and with a deterioration of other aspects such as ethics and emotional wellbeing [9, 10] Under these circumstances, it is clear that personal skills and nonacademic environments (such as family and cultural ones) have acquired more relevance as possible main sources of influence in the development of empathic abilities in nursing students, especially when targeted training activities on empathetic abilities are missing or limited. Studies on socialneuroscience recently have shown evidence demonstrating that an affective sharing may act as a gain antecedent to empathic understanding, while cognitive components are important for representing the mental states of self and other, necessary to make decisions in a clinical context [16]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
