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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05581381

Empathy Training Program for Nursing Staff

The research purpose is to investigate the effectiveness of empathy training program for nurses, as well as to investigate the effectiveness of learning satisfaction for nurses and the empathy training program learning subjective experience of nurses.The quantitative method is the experimental research method using randomization. The nurses receiving the intervention of empathy training program are in the experimental group, while those who do not receive it are in the control group.

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Key information

Conditions

Empathy

Age range

20 year–64 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Xuan-Yi Huang

Taipei, Peitou, 11219, Taiwan

About this study

"Empathy" is an important foundation for nurses to communicate with patients and establish trust relationships. If nurses lack of empathy literacy or cannot apply empathy communication skills, the role of establishing therapeutic interpersonal relationships with patients or family members will affect the professional performance of nurses and the quality of nursing care. Therefore, improving nurses' empathy literacy and practical application ability has a great correlation with good care quality. However, domestic and international research on the correlation of empathy for nurses are not enough and lack of training program, which show the topic of this research is worth exploring.

The research purpose is to investigate the effectiveness of empathy training program for nurses, as well as to investigate the effectiveness of learning satisfaction for nurses and the empathy training program learning subjective experience of nurses.

In order to make the evaluation of research effectiveness more specific and objective, and also hoped that nurses can be the subject of effectiveness evaluation, and have a deeper understanding of their subjective experiences and feelings. Therefore, the effectiveness evaluation of empathy training program for nurses is using method triangulation of the qualitative and quantitative research method.

The quantitative method is the experimental research method using randomization. The nurses receiving the intervention of empathy training program are in the experimental group, while those who do not receive it are in the control group. The effectiveness assessment will use the Empathy Construct Rating Scale (ECRS) and learning satisfaction scale, Empathy Construct Rating Scale (ECRS) required to be completed by both the experimental group and control group. ECRS perform the pre-test, post-test and post-post-test assessments. The pre-test perform before the implementation of empathy training program, and perform the post-test at week 8 the end of empathy training program, and after 8 weeks of post-test performed the post-post-test. Only experimental group require to complete learning satisfaction scale, perform the post-test at week 8 the end of empathy training program. Descriptive phenomenological research method is used as the qualitative method to explore the empathy training program learning subjective experience of nurses. This study will use purposive sampling to enroll experimental group who has received empathy training program learning, and then perform individual in-depth interviews after the end of empathy training program. Non-structured interview guides are used.

Hopefully, this study may develop an empathy training program which is suitable for nurses. This can enhance the empathy literacy and practical application ability for nurses.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Nursing staff

Exclusion criteria

  • Nursing staff on night shifts
  • Nursing staff working in the hospice and psychiatric wards

Treatment and study plan

empathy training program

Behavioral

Empathy training, a total of 8 weeks of training (1 time a week, 1 hour each time)

Primary outcomes

  1. Empathy Construct Rating Scale

    Time frame: Pre-test

    A total of 56 questions . It has good reliability and validity (the internal consistency is 0.92, and the test reliability after two weeks is 0.95). The ECRS(Empathy Construct Rating Scale) includes four subscales of caring (38-item), empathy (9-item), professional relationship (5-item), and communication (4-item), which are scored on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (completely unsatisfactory) to 6 (full compliance), Higher scores indicate higher empathy

  2. Empathy Construct Rating Scale

    Time frame: Post-test at Week 8

    A total of 56 questions . It has good reliability and validity (the internal consistency is 0.92, and the test reliability after two weeks is 0.95). The ECRS(Empathy Construct Rating Scale) includes four subscales of caring (38-item), empathy (9-item), professional relationship (5-item), and communication (4-item), which are scored on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (completely unsatisfactory) to 6 (full compliance), Higher scores indicate higher empathy

Secondary outcomes

  1. descriptive phenomenological research method

    Time frame: post-test at Week 8

    Each interview should not exceed 90 minutes and should be recorded using recording equipment. Qualitative research methods are quite suitable for exploring or less explored research areas or topics, and can gain insight into the nature, characteristics and attributes of life situations, life events, and life experiences.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences

Other

Collaborators

  • Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital

Registry information

Official study title

Exploring the Effect of Empathy Training Program for Nurses

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
Oct 14, 2022
Registry last updated
Oct 14, 2022

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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