Level of Empathy in Nurses for Individuals with Severe Motor and Intellectual Disabilities and Factors Related to Empathy

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  • 重症心身障害児（者）に対する看護師の共感の程度とその関連要因
  • ジュウショウ シンシン ショウガイジ(モノ)ニ タイスル カンゴシ ノ キョウカン ノ テイド ト ソノ カンレン ヨウイン

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Abstract

<p>To identify the level of empathy in nurses for persons with severe motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID) and the factors related to the empathy, a questionnaire survey was conducted to 495 nurses working in 25 Facilities for persons with SMID affiliated to the Kanto, Chubu Nursing Workshop Association. The questionnaire contained : 16 items from the Empathic Support Behavior (ESB) Scale to measure the level of empathy of nurses : demographic factors, workplace environment factors, self-assessment as a nurse, perceptions of nursing for persons with SMID that may influence empathy support behaviors. By a bivariate analysis factors that had statistically significant differences (p<0.05) in the total score of the ESB Scale were extracted. Using the total score of the ESB scale as the objective variable and the factors extracted as explanatory variables, a multiple regression analysis was performed. The result showed that the following items were associated with the empathy of nurses : “as nurses being relied on by families”, “attaching importance to the subjective complaints of persons with SMID”, “feeling that the conditions of the severely disabled individuals are improving by the daily life support”, and “high total scores for career commitment”. Nurses with higher levels of empathy placed importance on dealing with the subjective complaints of the persons with SMID, perceived the changes in the persons with SMID as a result of the daily life support provided, and committed themselves to a nursing career. These show that empathy behaviors of nurses promote a relationship of mutual trust through interactions between nurses and families, and this is a factor in the nurses becoming relied on by families. The findings suggest the importance of planning workshops and study meetings to improve the level of empathy of nurses.</p>

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