Exploring Nurses’ Meaning and Experiences of Compassion: An International Online Survey Involving 15 Countries

Abstract

Purpose: In recent years, there has been much focus on compassion in nursing care, and concern has been raised in a number of reports and media stories regarding decreased compassion. The aim of this study was to explore similarities and differences in the understanding and demonstration of compassion in nursing practice across 15 countries. Design: A total of 1,323 nurses from 15 countries responded to questions in relation to compassion, via an international online survey. Results: The data revealed the impact of sociopolitical influences on perceptions of compassion, and the conscious and intentional nature of compassion. Discussion and Conclusion: The study demonstrated shared understandings of the importance of compassion as well as some common perceptions of the attributes of compassionate care. The differences reported were not as significant as had been expected. Implications for Practice: Further research is needed to explore the country and culture differences in the enactment of compassion.

Keywords

compassion cultural competence culture transcultural nursing

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abraham

(2011). Care and compassion? Report of the Health Service Ombudsman on ten investigations into NHS care of older people. Retrieved from http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/7216/Care-and-Compassion-PHSO-0114web.pdf

Adamson

Dewar

(2011). Compassion in the nursing curriculum: Making it more explicit. Journal of Holistic Healthcare, 8(3), 42-45.

Armstrong

(2011). Twelve steps to a compassionate life. London, England: Bodley Head.

Braun

Clarke

(2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Centre for Applied Research and Evaluation International Foundation. (2013). In conversation with compassion and care. Retrieved from http://careif.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/careif-Compassion-and-Care-PDF.pdf

Chrousos

G. P.

(2014). Empathy, stress and compassion: Resonance between the caring and the cared. In Shea

Wynward

Lionis

(Eds.), Providing compassionate healthcare: Challenges in policy and practice (pp. 35-39). London, England: Routledge.

Crawford

Brown

Kvangarsnes

Gilbert

(2014). The design of compassionate care. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 23, 3589-3599.

Cummings

Bennett

(2012). Developing the culture of compassionate care: Creating a new vision for nurses, midwives and care-givers. Retrieved from http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/nursing-vision.pdf

Curtis

(2013). 21st Century challenges faced by nursing faculty in educating for compassionate practice: Embodied interpretation of phenomenological data. Nurse Education Today, 33, 746-750.

10.

Curtis

(2014). Learning the requirements of compassionate practice: Student vulnerability and courage. Nursing Ethics, 21, 210-223.

11.

Curtis

Horton

Smith

(2012). Student nurse socialisation in compassionate practice: A grounded theory study. Nurse Education Today, 32, 790-795.

12.

Daubenmire

M. J.

(1990). Practicing therapeutic presence. In The essence of therapeutic presence. Unpublished course materials. Columbus, OH: Riverside Methodist Hospitals.

13.

Department of Health. (2012). Transforming care: A national response to Winterbourne View Hospital (Department of Health Review: Final report). Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/213215/final-report.pdf

14.

Department of Health. (2015). Culture change in the NHS. Applying the lessons of the Francis Inquiries. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/403010/culture-change-nhs.pdf

15.

Dewar

(2013). Cultivating compassionate care. Nursing Standard, 27(34), 48-55.

16.

Dixon-Woods

Baker

Charles

Dawson

Jerzembek

Martin

. . . West

(2014). Culture and behaviour in the English National Health Service: Overview of lessons from a large multimethod study. BMJ Quality & Safety, 23, 106-115. doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2013-001947

17.

Francis

(2013). Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry (Vol. 1-3). London, England: House of Commons Stationery Office.

18.

Goetz

J. L.

Keltner

Simon-Thomas

(2010). Compassion: An evolutionary analysis and empirical review. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 351-374.

19.

Hehir

(2013). Report “A crisis of compassion: Who cares?” Battle of ideas 20-21 October 2012, London, Nursing Ethics, 20, 109-114.

20.

Henderson

(2002). Factors impacting on nurses’ transference of theoretical knowledge of holistic care into clinical practice. Nurse Education in Practice, 2, 244-250.

21.

Hofstede

G. J.

Minkov

(2010). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind (3rd ed.). London, England: McGraw-Hill.

22.

Kim

Flaskerud

(2007). Cultivating compassion across cultures. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 28, 931-934.

23.

McKivergin

M. J.

Daubenmire

M. J.

(1994). The healing process of presence. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 12, 65-81.

24.

NHS Commissioning Board. (2012). Compassion in practice: Nursing, midwifery and care staff: Our vision and strategy. Retrieved from www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/compassion-in-practice.pdf

25.

Papadopoulos

(2011, May 19). Courage, compassion and cultural competence (The 13th Anna Reynvaan lecture. Unpublished keynote lecture). De Stadsschouwburg, Amsterdam City Theatre, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.

26.

Papadopoulos

Pezzella

(2015). A snapshot review of culturally competent compassion as addressed in selected mental health textbooks for undergraduate nursing students. Journal of Compassionate Health Care, 2(3), 1-7. doi:10.1186/s40639-015-0012-5

27.

The Patients Association. (2009). Patients . . . not numbers, people . . . not statistics. Retrieved from http://www.patients-association.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Patient-Stories-2009.pdf

28.

Price

(2013). Promoting compassionate care through learning journeys. Nursing Standard, 27(48), 51-57.

29.

Schantz

M. L.

(2007). Compassion: A concept analysis. Nursing Forum, 42(2), 48-55.

30.

Seager

(2014). Who cares for the carers? Keeping compassion alive in care systems, cultures and environments. In Shea

Wynward

Lionis

(Eds.), Providing compassionate healthcare: Challenges in policy and practice (pp. 40-53). London, England: Routledge.

31.

Straughair

(2012). Exploring compassion: Implications for contemporary nursing. Part 1. British Journal of Nursing, 21, 160-164.

32.

Templeton

(2015, February 15). War veteran was just “bed17” to his nurses. The Sunday Times, p. 17.

33.

van der Cingel

(2011). Compassion in care: A qualitative study of older people with a chronic disease and nurses. Nursing Ethics, 18, 672-685.