Empathy and ethical sensitivity among intensive and critical care nurses: A path analysis

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Medical Ethics
• Psychology

Background:

• Intensive and critical care nurses face complex ethical dilemmas due to patients' life-threatening conditions.
• Nurses' empathy and ethical sensitivity are theorized to be interconnected.
• Emotional, demographic, and work characteristics influence nurses' empathy and ethical sensitivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between nurses' empathy and ethical sensitivity.
• To assess the impact of emotional states (depression, anxiety, stress), demographics, and work characteristics on this relationship.
• To test a model predicting empathy and ethical sensitivity using path analysis.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study design utilizing care ethics and empathy theory.
• Path analysis employed to test an empirical model.
• Data collected from 347 intensive care nurses in Iran via questionnaire.

Main Results:

• Nurses reported mild stress, anxiety, and depression, with high empathy and ethical sensitivity.
• Higher socioeconomic status correlated with greater empathetic behavior.
• Older nurses (over 40) with ethics training and experience showed higher ethical sensitivity.
• Empathy directly enhanced ethical sensitivity; anxiety indirectly impacted it via empathy.
• Age positively and directly influenced ethical sensitivity.

Conclusions:

• Reduced anxiety and heightened empathy are crucial for improving ethical sensitivity in critical care nurses.
• Demographic factors, particularly age, play a direct role in ethical sensitivity.
• Interventions aimed at enhancing empathy and managing anxiety may improve ethical practice in intensive care settings.