Factors facilitating nurses to deliver compassionate care: a qualitative study.
BACKGROUND
Compassion is an important ethical foundation of all healthcare professionals especially for nursing. However, there is little understanding of factors which could help and motivate nurses to deliver compassionate care in modern healthcare practices today. Moreover, a cultural context may affect the way compassionate care is delivered by healthcare professionals.


OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to explore what facilitates compassionate care in daily practice from the unique perspective of Iranian nurses.


METHODS
This qualitative exploratory study was conducted in four hospitals. In this study, 16 nurses were selected from various wards. Data were collected by in-depth, face-to-face interviews. For data analysis, a conventional content analysis approach was used.


RESULTS
As the most important theme, the theme 'deepening individual's capacity for compassionate care' emerged, which consisted of three categories: the personal system of values and beliefs, patient experience and positive role models of compassion.


CONCLUSIONS
Addressing and developing nurses' capacity for compassion is possible by providing organisational support and professional education, next to recruiting nurses with a high motivation to relieve patient suffering. These recommendations would help to provide high-quality compassionate care in healthcare practices. Moreover, nurses could improve their individual capacity for compassion by following their value and belief system and by considering their colleagues as a role model of compassionate practice.
Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Vahid
V
Zamanzadeh
Department of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Leila
L
Valizadeh
Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Azad
A
Rahmani
School of Healthcare, University of Applied Sciences Windesheim, Zwolle, The Netherlands.
Margreet
M
van der Cingel
Student Research Committee, Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Mansour
M
Ghafourifard
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*
clinical practice; compassion; compassionate care; nurse; qualitative research