Compassionate care at end of life and nurses' coping with the patient's death: a cross-sectional correlational study

Compassionate care and coping with patient death are central components of nursing practice, particularly in internal medicine settings where end-of-life encounters are frequent and emotionally demanding.

To examine the relationships between compassionate care, self-compassion, compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and coping with a patient's death among nurses in internal medicine wards.

A cross-sectional quantitative correlational study.

A sample of 256 nurses from two Israeli hospitals completed validated questionnaires assessing compassion competencies and coping with death. Data were analyzed using correlations, t-tests, ANOVA, and linear regression.

Compassionate care was positively related to coping with death (r = .561, p <.001, 95% CI [.46, .64], β = .561, R² = .315), self-compassion (r = .494, p <.001), and compassion satisfaction (r = .550, p <.001), and negatively related to compassion fatigue (r = -.622, p <.001). Both self-compassion (r = .561, p <.001) and compassion satisfaction (r = .595, p <.001) were positively associated with better coping with death, while compassion fatigue was negatively associated with coping scores (r = -.499, p <.001). Participation in advanced professional training was associated with higher levels of Compassionate care (d = 0.36, p <.05), coping with death (d = 0.33, p <.05), self-compassion (d =0.23, p <.05), and compassion satisfaction (d = 0.31, p <.05), and with lower compassion fatigue scores (d = -0.34, p <.05). Additionally, age and clinical experience were positively associated with self-compassion (r = .153, p = .015) and coping with death (r = .195, p = .002) and negatively associated with compassion fatigue (r = -.201, p = .001).

Compassionate care and self-compassion are positively associated with nurses' ability to manage death-related challenges, while compassion fatigue is linked to lower emotional well-being. Supportive strategies correlate with higher resilience.

Organizational efforts could usefully explore emotional support and training to strengthen compassionate care and address emotional strain in acute care.

This study explored emotional mechanisms associated with nurses' capacity to deliver compassionate care and cope with death. It highlights compassionate care as a central factor correlated with professional coping. Findings offer guidance for future interventions targeting variables associated with higher resilience and lower emotional burden.

This study did not include patient or public involvement in its design, implementation, or reporting.