NURSES' EMPATHY FOR PATIENTS' EXPERIENCE OF POSTOPERATIVE PAIN AS A FUNCTION OF THE DEGREE OF HUMANISM IN THE NURSING ENVIRONMENT, THE PATIENT'S AGE, AND LENGTH OF TIME SINCE SURGERY.
Contributors: New York University.
Published: 1989
Number of pages: 178
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Nurses' empathy for patients' experience of post-operative pain as a function of the degree of humanism in the nursing environment, the patient's age, and length of time since surgery are investigated. Nurses' assessments of patients' experience of pain are conceptualized as an aspect of empathy: understanding the feeling of pain. Nurses' empathy for their patient's experience of post-operative pain is measured by determining the congruence between nurses' assessments of their patients' pain and their patients' of pain as indicated on visual analogue scales (VAS). Humanism in nursing environments is measured with Fenton's (1987) Scale of Humanistic Nursing Behaviors (SHNB) which has four dimensions: shared decision making, holistic selves, empathy, and status equality.

The sample consisted of 117 registered nurses, 155 abdominal surgery patients, and 271 nursing staff members of 11 surgical units at three hospitals. Patients completed a VAS once during the first four post-operative days. RN's completed a VAS at the same time.

The following hypotheses were tested: The greater the humanism in the nursing environment, the greater is the nurse's empathy for a patient's experience of post-operative pain.

The younger the post-operative patient, the greater is the nurse's empathy for a patient's experience of post-operative pain.

The shorter the length of time since surgery, the greater is the nurse's empathy for a patient's experience of post-operative pain.

The combination of the degree of humanism in the nursing environment, the age of the patient, and the length of time since surgery accounts for more variance in the nurse's empathy for a patient's experience of post-operative pain than does any one factor alone.

Multiple regression analyses and Pearson correlations indicates nonsupport of the hypotheses.

Analyses of variance of the SHNB dimensions indicates the nursing units differed significantly with respect to empathy and status equality.

Multiple regression analysis indicates patients' pain, length of time since surgery, and time nurses spend with patients accounts for 13.2% of the variance in nurses' assessments. Nurses significantly underestimate pain. Age is not correlated with patients' pain or nurses' assessments.

Discussion includes possible theoretical and methodological explanations for the results and research suggestions.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-07, Section: B, page: 2852.

Thesis (PH.D.)--NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, 1989.

School code: 0146.