Barriers to empathy-based care: oncology nurses' perceptions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore oncology nurses' barriers to empathy-based care perceptions. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a descriptive qualitative method. In total, 18 oncology nurses were selected via purposive sampling. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and qualitative content analysis using an inductive approach. Findings Three main categories emerged from the data analysis: barriers related to nursing including: lacking compassion; disinterest in oncology nursing and self-criticism; psychological distress; barriers related to healthcare: job strain; task-centeredness; no formal training; poor manager support; nurse-patient gender imbalance; and barriers related to cancer care including: difficulty maintaining empathy with cancer patients; and inappropriate cancer patient Practical implications Oncology nurses provided insights into barriers to empathy-based care and the challenges they encountered while caring for cancer patients. Understanding these barriers is the first step to overcoming obstacles and creating an open and caring environment to provide an empathic care culture. Originality/value Given that oncology nurses experience several emotions, positive coping strategies for these distresses should be adopted. Healthcare systems should change cancer-caring culture from task-centered to patient-centered care. Compassion and empathy should become patient care values.