Empathy and Compassion Fatigue Among Staff Nurses in selected Public Hospitals in Iloilo: Basis for an Enhanced Workplace Action Plan

Abstract

This study examined empathy and compassion fatigue among staff nurses in selected public hospitals in Iloilo, Philippines, as a basis for an enhanced workplace action plan. A quantitative descriptive-correlational research design was employed involving staff nurses assigned to wards, emergency rooms, delivery rooms, and operating rooms. Standardized instruments, including the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ), Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE), and the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL-V), were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, an independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson’s r at a 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that the nursing workforce was predominantly female, early- to mid-career, and mostly assigned to high-demand clinical areas with standard 8-hour shifts. Overall, nurses demonstrated a high level of empathy, with very high cognitive empathy and compassionate care, while affective empathy was moderate. This suggests strong cognitive understanding of patients’ experiences and consistent delivery of compassionate care, accompanied by a balanced level of emotional engagement. In terms of compassion fatigue, nurses generally experienced low levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress, indicating effective coping mechanisms and psychological resilience despite demanding work conditions. However, a considerable proportion of respondents reported moderate levels on both dimensions, suggesting ongoing occupational emotional strain that warrants attention. Correlation analysis showed that cognitive empathy and compassionate care were significantly and negatively associated with burnout and secondary traumatic stress, indicating that these dimensions function as protective factors against compassion fatigue. In contrast, affective empathy showed no significant relationship with either burnout or secondary traumatic stress. Comparative analyses revealed that empathy and compassion fatigue were generally not significantly influenced by sex, shift schedule, years of experience, or area of assignment. Age had a partial influence on affective empathy and compassionate care, while burnout varied with years of experience and area of assignment. Secondary traumatic stress remained consistent across all groups. The study concludes that nurses exhibit high empathy and low compassion fatigue, with outcomes largely shaped by professional and organizational factors rather than demographic characteristics. These findings inform the development of a targeted workplace action plan to strengthen cognitive empathy, sustain compassionate care, and mitigate burnout through organizational and psychosocial support interventions.