Relationship Between Empathy, Moral Sensitivity, and Spiritual Care Competence Among Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: As the global population ages and the number of patients with chronic illnesses increases, caregivers need to consider not only the physical and psychological health of patients but also their spiritual needs when providing care. In providing spiritual care, caregivers must have empathy, moral sensitivity, and spiritual care competence. By exploring the relationship between the three variables, it is essential to improve the overall quality of care and promote patient recovery. Aims: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between empathy, moral sensitivity, and spiritual care competence of nurses. Methods: A total of 390 nurses from three hospitals in China were surveyed using an online questionnaire that included nurses' sociodemographic, empathy, moral sensitivity, and spiritual care competence. The data were analyzed using statistical software IBM SPSS 27.0. Results: The results showed that the total score of nurses' spiritual care competence was 47.92 ± 8.71. The relationship between empathy, moral sensitivity, and spiritual care competence was significant, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.400 to 0.574 (p < 0.01). The results of multivariate analysis show that empathy, moral sensitivity, and other variables were the main predictors of nurses' spiritual care competence, explaining 30.3% of the total variation. Conclusions: This study found that empathy and moral sensitivity of nurses may be an effective way to improve nurses' spiritual care competence. The results of this study not only provide reference for improving the spiritual care competence of nurses but also improve the quality of care and patient care experience. Implications for Nursing Management: The results of this study suggest that nursing managers and educators should pay attention to nurses' empathy and moral sensitivity and take timely intervention measures to improve nurses' spiritual care competence. To achieve the goal, comprehensively improving the professional quality of nurses and promoting the development of whole-person nursing is essential.