Department of Nursing, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Department of Health Services Management, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan. Registered Nurse, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Purpose: The aim of this study was to understand patient-perceived empathy from nurse among different units of Taiwan acute care settings. Design: A crosssectional study was used with a questionnaire survey in acute care units and intensive care units of a medical center in northern Taiwan. Participants were selected by convenient sampling. A total of 548 patients at 14 acute care units and 4 intensive care units in a large Medical Center participated in this questionnaire survey. Methods: Scale of patient-perceived empathy from nurse including 15 item Likert scale was used in this study. The statistical software SPSS 15.0 for Windows was applied and Cronbach’s α, factor analysis, Pearson’s correlation, t-test and one way ANOVA were conducted to analyze the data. Findings: Patients who were first-time hospitalization had higher scores of patient-perceived empathy from nurse than patients who have had hospitalizing experiences. The patient in surgical unit had the highest score of patient-perceived empathy from nurse. The empathy scale score of patient without ICU experience was significantly higher than patient with ICU experience. Also, patients without depressive history had higher score than patients with depression history. Conclusion: Patients with multiple admissions of hospitalization, ICU experience, and depressive history had lower score than other patients. It is suggested that the perception of patients with complicated disease or condition might be different. Thus, an in-depth caring knowledge of both emotions and disease was needed to support patients’ perception of empathy. Clinical Relevance: The care of complicated patients especially with ICU experience needs strong knowledge based both on emotion and disease.
Tsai, S. , Chai, S. and Hwa Wang, H. (2013) Patient-perceived empathy from nurses in Taiwan acute care settings. Open Journal of Nursing, 3, 532-538. doi: 10.4236/ojn.2013.38072.
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