Moral sensitivity and caring behavior in nursing interns: the mediating role of empathy

作者：Jin yan Chen, Hong Chen, X Wang, Qing zhen Zong, Zhen zhen Yao · 发表于：Frontiers in Public Health · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.3389/fpubh.2024.1360940 · 被引用次数：24 · 研究领域：Empathy and Medical Education、Ethics in medical practice、Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout

Background The main purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between moral sensitivity, empathy, and caring behaviors and to explore the mediating effect of empathy on moral sensitivity and caring behaviors of nursing interns. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted from August to September 2022 in which 261 nursing interns from two Grade 3A Hospitals in Xi’an participated. The questionnaires used in the survey include the General Information Questionnaire (GIQ), the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire—Revised Version translated into Chinese (MSQ R-CV), the Chinese version of the Jefferson Empathy Scale (JSE), and the Chinese version of the Caring Behavior Inventory (C-CBI). The obtained data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and the mediating effect of empathy was tested through structural equations. Results The overall mean of moral sensitivity of nursing interns in two Grade 3A Hospitals in Xi’an is 40.84 ± 8.73, the overall mean of empathy is 100.51 ± 21.56, and the overall mean of caring behavior is (113.81 ± 21.05). Statistical analysis showed that there is a positive correlation between moral sensitivity and caring behavior of nursing interns ( r = 0.376, p < 0.01), between their empathy and moral sensitivity ( r = 0.336, p < 0.01), and between their empathy and caring behavior ( r = 0.394, p < 0.01). The empathy of nursing interns has a mediat...