Abstract
Introduction: The approach and use of the term “humanization” is very much present in healthcare. However, instruments for measuring the concept of the humanization of care are yet to be designed and developed. Objective: The main objective of this study was to evaluate and validate the Healthcare Professional Humanization Scale (HUMAS) for nursing professionals. Method: The sample was made up of 338 adults, who were nurses working at health centers and hospitals, and aged between 22 and 56. Results: The results of the analyses confirm that the Healthcare Professional Humanization Scale (HUMAS) has an adequate construct validity and reliability, and defines the humanization of care as a multidimensional construct, made up of five factors: Affection, Self-efficacy, Emotional understanding, Optimistic disposition and Sociability. Conclusions: The new HUMAS scale may be an easily administered and coded instrument for approaching the humanization of care, not only in research, but also in practice.
Highlights
The approach and use of the term “humanization” is very much present in healthcare
Previous studies have agreed that the humanization of care is built upon people’s needs in the care relationship [4,10,11,16], for which purpose healthcare professionals must be committed to their work [17,21,22,23], which is promoted if they possess certain characteristics [27,28,29,34,39,40,46]
Concerning the performed analyses, with the five main factors extracted from Humanization Scale (HUMAS), statistically significant positive correlations were found between the five factors and the empathy scales, pro-sociability and positivity, except in the case of affective empathy, which did not correlate with the general humanization factor, and was negatively associated with Affection
Summary
The approach and use of the term “humanization” is very much present in healthcare. instruments for measuring the concept of the humanization of care are yet to be designed and developed. The approach to and use of the term “humanization” is very much present in the area of care, and has even come to be defined as the humanization of care, arising in response to the perception of a society where healthcare is dehumanized or depersonalized [1,2,3,4] This is a situation that, even though considered multifactorial [5], may be associated to a great extent with emotional exhaustion, burnout [6,7,8], stress [2] or other factors more closely associated with the workplace, such as staffing ratios or the automation of care [2,9]. In spite of its rapid introduction and acceptance in the healthcare environment, there is still no clear definition of the concept of the humanization of care, which makes it somewhat vague, and has caused it to be considered a passing fashion by many. Public Health 2019, 16, 3999; doi:10.3390/ijerph16203999 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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
