Effects of empathy on the perspectives of respectful and disrespectful maternity care among nursing and midwifery students in China: A cross-sectional study
Jing Huang , Na Wang , Yuhui Fu , Rui Yang , Mingna Zhang , Li Guo , Jenny Gamble , Debra K. Creedy
{"title":"Effects of empathy on the perspectives of respectful and disrespectful maternity care among nursing and midwifery students in China: A cross-sectional study","authors":"Jing Huang , Na Wang , Yuhui Fu , Rui Yang , Mingna Zhang , Li Guo , Jenny Gamble , Debra K. Creedy","doi":"10.1016/j.nedt.2024.106559","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Empathy is a crucial attribute in healthcare, benefiting both professionals and patients. It also plays an important role in the midwife-woman relationship, contributing to the implementation of respectful maternity care. Witnessing acts of disrespect towards childbearing women in the clinical setting may impair students' perceptions of respectful maternity care, as they may come to view disrespect as normative. However, empathy may moderate this effect among pre-registration nursing and midwifery students.</div></div><div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>To measure empathy levels and associated factors among pre-registration nursing and midwifery students, and the mediating role of empathy on perceptions of disrespectful and respectful maternity care.</div></div><div><h3>Design</h3><div>A cross-sectional survey.</div></div><div><h3>Settings</h3><div>Eight universities/colleges.</div></div><div><h3>Participants</h3><div>A total of 694 pre-registration nursing and midwifery students.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Participants completed an online survey with questions from the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (Health Profession Students), Students' Perceptions of Respectful Maternity Care and a list of items to measure exposure to disrespectful maternity care.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Students reported a mean empathy score of 103 out of 140. Factors such as female, Han ethnicity, fourth year of the program, midwifery major, and a hybrid mode of clinical practicum (online and in-person) were found to be associated with higher empathy levels. Empathy mediated the impact of witnessing disrespectful care on students' perceptions of respectful maternity care.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Pre-registration education should consider the different needs of students based on their gender, ethnicity, and different stages of clinical training. Enabling clinical learning environments with empathetic role models may cultivate students' empathy during their clinical training.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54704,"journal":{"name":"Nurse Education Today","volume":"146 ","pages":"Article 106559"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-12-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Nurse Education Today","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0260691724004696","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Empathy is a crucial attribute in healthcare, benefiting both professionals and patients. It also plays an important role in the midwife-woman relationship, contributing to the implementation of respectful maternity care. Witnessing acts of disrespect towards childbearing women in the clinical setting may impair students' perceptions of respectful maternity care, as they may come to view disrespect as normative. However, empathy may moderate this effect among pre-registration nursing and midwifery students.
Objectives
To measure empathy levels and associated factors among pre-registration nursing and midwifery students, and the mediating role of empathy on perceptions of disrespectful and respectful maternity care.
Design
A cross-sectional survey.
Settings
Eight universities/colleges.
Participants
A total of 694 pre-registration nursing and midwifery students.
Methods
Participants completed an online survey with questions from the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (Health Profession Students), Students' Perceptions of Respectful Maternity Care and a list of items to measure exposure to disrespectful maternity care.
Results
Students reported a mean empathy score of 103 out of 140. Factors such as female, Han ethnicity, fourth year of the program, midwifery major, and a hybrid mode of clinical practicum (online and in-person) were found to be associated with higher empathy levels. Empathy mediated the impact of witnessing disrespectful care on students' perceptions of respectful maternity care.
Conclusion
Pre-registration education should consider the different needs of students based on their gender, ethnicity, and different stages of clinical training. Enabling clinical learning environments with empathetic role models may cultivate students' empathy during their clinical training.
期刊介绍:
Nurse Education Today is the leading international journal providing a forum for the publication of high quality original research, review and debate in the discussion of nursing, midwifery and interprofessional health care education, publishing papers which contribute to the advancement of educational theory and pedagogy that support the evidence-based practice for educationalists worldwide. The journal stimulates and values critical scholarly debate on issues that have strategic relevance for leaders of health care education.
The journal publishes the highest quality scholarly contributions reflecting the diversity of people, health and education systems worldwide, by publishing research that employs rigorous methodology as well as by publishing papers that highlight the theoretical underpinnings of education and systems globally. The journal will publish papers that show depth, rigour, originality and high standards of presentation, in particular, work that is original, analytical and constructively critical of both previous work and current initiatives.
Authors are invited to submit original research, systematic and scholarly reviews, and critical papers which will stimulate debate on research, policy, theory or philosophy of nursing and related health care education, and which will meet and develop the journal''s high academic and ethical standards.