Anna Goudetsidou, Theodoros Pesiridis, Petros Galanis, Venetia Sofia Velonaki
{"title":"Exploring the role of empathy in nurses' intention to provide disaster care: a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Anna Goudetsidou, Theodoros Pesiridis, Petros Galanis, Venetia Sofia Velonaki","doi":"10.1186/s13584-025-00721-4","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Over the past two decades, the increasing frequency of disasters highlights the urgent need for nurses willing to respond to these crises. Although disaster care is part of their professional role, willingness to provide care in such situations is not always guaranteed and may be influenced by various factors. Understanding what shapes their intention to provide care is critical for effective disaster planning. This study investigates the role of empathy in shaping nurses' intention to participate in disaster care, drawing on the Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis. To further contextualize this relationship, elements of the Theory of Planned Behavior-attitude toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control-were also examined as potential predictors of behavioral intention.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional and correlational study was carried out among nurses in Greece using a convenience sampling method. Data collection took place from December 2023 to April 2024. Participants completed a questionnaire covering demographics, academic background, experiences with disasters, empathy (assessed using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy), and behavioral intentions related to disaster care. The Behavioral Intention Scale was used to assess the behavioral intention, attitude toward the behavior, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The final sample included 252 nurses. Findings revealed a strong intention to participate in disaster victim care. Empathy levels were moderate to high, with a mean score of 103.56 on a 20-140 scale. Multiple linear regression, using behavioral intention as the dependent variable, revealed a significant positive association between subjective norms and behavioral intention. In contrast, empathy, attitude, and perceived behavioral control were not significantly associated with behavioral intention.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study provides insights into the factors that influence nurses' intention to provide disaster care, with subjective norms emerging as the strongest predictor. These findings partially support the Theory of Planned Behavior and suggest that social expectations and perceived peer support may be critical in shaping willingness to respond. Although nurses exhibited strong empathy and a high intention to participate in disaster care, empathy did not significantly influence behavioral intention. Further research is needed to explore empathy's potential contribution to motivating nurses to engage in disaster response.</p>","PeriodicalId":46694,"journal":{"name":"Israel Journal of Health Policy Research","volume":"14 1","pages":"58"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12452002/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Israel Journal of Health Policy Research","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-025-00721-4","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HEALTH POLICY & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Over the past two decades, the increasing frequency of disasters highlights the urgent need for nurses willing to respond to these crises. Although disaster care is part of their professional role, willingness to provide care in such situations is not always guaranteed and may be influenced by various factors. Understanding what shapes their intention to provide care is critical for effective disaster planning. This study investigates the role of empathy in shaping nurses' intention to participate in disaster care, drawing on the Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis. To further contextualize this relationship, elements of the Theory of Planned Behavior-attitude toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control-were also examined as potential predictors of behavioral intention.
Methods: A cross-sectional and correlational study was carried out among nurses in Greece using a convenience sampling method. Data collection took place from December 2023 to April 2024. Participants completed a questionnaire covering demographics, academic background, experiences with disasters, empathy (assessed using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy), and behavioral intentions related to disaster care. The Behavioral Intention Scale was used to assess the behavioral intention, attitude toward the behavior, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control.
Results: The final sample included 252 nurses. Findings revealed a strong intention to participate in disaster victim care. Empathy levels were moderate to high, with a mean score of 103.56 on a 20-140 scale. Multiple linear regression, using behavioral intention as the dependent variable, revealed a significant positive association between subjective norms and behavioral intention. In contrast, empathy, attitude, and perceived behavioral control were not significantly associated with behavioral intention.
Conclusions: This study provides insights into the factors that influence nurses' intention to provide disaster care, with subjective norms emerging as the strongest predictor. These findings partially support the Theory of Planned Behavior and suggest that social expectations and perceived peer support may be critical in shaping willingness to respond. Although nurses exhibited strong empathy and a high intention to participate in disaster care, empathy did not significantly influence behavioral intention. Further research is needed to explore empathy's potential contribution to motivating nurses to engage in disaster response.