Attributes of compassionate care in clinical nursing practice from the perspectives of patients and nurses-A systematic review

Compassion is an essential aspect of the provision of nursing care. However, the concept of compassion is complex as multiple elements are involved in it and the perspectives of nurses as well as patients help us to unveil the complex concept. To summarize the various elements of compassion from the perspective of patients and nurses. A systematic review based on preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to explore compassionate care in nursing. The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (an international database of prospectively registered systematic reviews) with the CRD number CRD42022336220. Multiple medical subject headings keywords across databases were used to retrieve the qualitative studies on compassion. A total of 18 qualitative papers were included in the review after the quality assessment with critical appraisal skill program checklist. The meta-synthesis was carried out using Noblit and Hare's seven-step approach. The perspectives of 485 participants were synthesized for the meta-synthesis. Two major themes with multiple subthemes were derived from the meta-synthesis. Major themes include the construct of compassion and the attributes of compassion. The construct of compassion had various subthemes such as similarity with other constructs or negative perceptions of compassion and measures to improve compassion or inhibitors or outcomes of compassion. Similarly, the attributes of compassion had personal, caring, and relationship attributes. The knowledge, skills, and attitudes of nursing staff were reported as predominant attributes. Further, establishing a trusting relationship with the patient by using verbal and nonverbal communication skills conveyed compassion to a greater extent. Compassionate care involves a multitude of components. A thorough understanding of the components by aspiring nursing students and novice clinical nurses is highly warranted in the current era to provide high-quality nursing care.