How Does Nurse Compassion Competence Influence Patient Safety Incidents? Exploring the Mediating Role of Safety...

Compassion competence among nurses is crucial for patient safety and the quality of nursing care, yet the mechanisms linking these factors remain unclear, indicating a significant gap in current understanding.

This study aimed to explore the mediating role of adherence to safety standards in the relationship between nurse compassion competence and patient safety incidents.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 455 nurses across 3 hospitals in Visayas, Philippines. Participants completed self-report measures assessing compassion competence, adherence to safety standards, and perceived patient safety incidents. Data were analyzed using SPSS Hayes Macro Model 4 to examine direct and indirect effects.

Higher levels of compassion competence in nurses were positively associated with increased adherence to safety standards (β = 0.3438, p = 0.0019) and fewer patient safety incidents (β = -0.2586, p = 0.0001). Adherence to safety standards was found to partially mediate the relationship between compassion competence and patient safety incidents (β = 0.0451, 95% CI [0.0106, 0.0862]).

Fostering compassion competence in nurses can enhance adherence to safety standards, ultimately leading to a reduction in patient safety incidents in healthcare environments. The findings underscore the critical role of compassion competence not just as a desirable nursing trait but as a strategic lever for improving patient safety. Healthcare organizations should implement structured professional development programs that cultivate empathy, emotional intelligence, and effective communication-core elements of compassion competence. Nursing leadership must also embed compassion-driven practices into patient safety protocols, promote a culture of accountability and empathy, and support interdisciplinary collaboration to ensure consistent adherence to safety standards and minimize preventable harm.