Implementing interventions to improve compassionate nursing care: A literature review

To identify strategies which support the implementation of interventions to promote compassionate nursing care with a focus on interventions designed to support improved patient outcomes and/or patient experience in acute hospitals.

An integrative review using the PRISMA guidelines and a 5-stage framework consisting of problem identification, literature search, data evaluation, data analysis and presentation. CINAHL, Embase, Medline, PsychInfo and Web of Science were systematically searched using key search terms. Hand searches were conducted of the reference lists of eligible articles and searching key journals.

Six articles met the inclusion criteria with six different interventions described. A thematic analysis of the findings identified three key themes relating to the implementation of interventions which promote compassionate nursing care: (1) the importance of evidence; (2) support for nursing development; and (3) planning for and leading implementation.

Compassionate care improves quality of life, the hospital experience and overall recovery. Strong nursing leadership and a supportive team environment are facilitators for delivery of compassionate care in acute settings. Excessive workload, overly rigid reporting and organisational indifference are barriers to delivery of compassionate care.

Health policy is used to inform the systematic implementation and delivery of patient care informed by best evidence. Health setting, environment and culture are important facets of the implementation of a compassionate care framework. Furthermore, nurse engagement, teamwork and nurse leadership are key facilitators for delivery of compassionate care in acute hospital settings. These findings need to be taken into consideration by policy makers and nursing leaders when designing and implementing compassionate care interventions.

Implementing interventions to improve compassionate nursing care can be challenging. This review identified the factors which should be considered by policy makers when implementing these interventions systematically throughout the healthcare system.