Perceptions of Empathy Among Nursing Assistants in Long-Term Care Facilities

Background:​ Empathy is a fundamental component of the therapeutic relationship between healthcare providers and patients and has the potential to yield significant benefits, including heightened care satisfaction, enhanced care quality, and improved mental well-being for patients. As nursing assistants (NAs) are primary direct care providers in long-term care facilities (LTCFs), it is necessary to understand NAs’ views on empathy in their care provision for residents, but a gap exists in the literature regarding NAs’ perspectives on empathy in this context.

Aim: In this study, we aimed to explore perceptions of empathy among NAs in LTCFs.

Research Design: A qualitative approach was applied in this study.

Participants and Research Context: Through purposive and snowball sampling, 18 NAs who provided care for residents in six LTCFs in Taiwan were recruited. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted using a semistructured interview guide, and data were analyzed using a content analysis.

Ethical Considerations: Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board. All participants signed a written informed consent form prior to the interview.

Results: Four themes encompassing 11 categories were generated including “being fundamental to caregiving to establish trust and enhance quality care,” “practicing altruistic behavior in the pursuit of ethical caregiving,” “cycling empathic flow in care,” and “facing challenges in delivering empathetic care.”

Conclusions: NAs in LTCFs viewed empathy as an essential element of the caregiving process. They saw empathy as selfless care, assistance to others, and alleviation of residents’ suffering. Understanding residents’ emotions, thoughts, and needs, active listening and compassionate engagement were vital to expressing empathy. However, NAs faced challenges in expressing empathy due to demanding tasks, time limitations, and insufficient knowledge and communication skills. In addition, emotional desensitization further complicated the provision of empathic care. The findings of this study can provide information for nurse managers and directors to understand NAs’ perspectives on empathy and difficulties when providing empathic care in the long-term care context.