Compassionate Care in a Health Education Setting: A Scoping Review
,
Abstract
Background: Compassionate care represents a foundational value in healthcare education, essential for cultivating empathy and holistic patient engagement. Despite its recognized significance, integrating compassionate care into educational curricula remains complex. We systematically explored its conceptualization, implementation, and pedagogical strategies within health education to inform curriculum development and professional training.
Methods: Scoping review using the Arksey and O’Malley framework. Literature search in Dec 2024 in the Scopus, Emerald Insight, and Wiley Online Library databases, English publications from the last 10 years, focussing on compassionate care in health education. Flow diagram for the PRISMA review scoping shows the search and selection procedures. Tools from the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) for thematic analysis. Overall, 4,119 articles were screened, and 21 studies met the inclusion criteria.
Results: Compassionate care enhances empathy, communication, and professional behaviour among students. Development is carried out through experiential learning, narrative reflection, clinical practice, and the role of mentors. Programs like the Kind Care Bundle and empathy training have proven effective. However, implementation faces obstacles such as academic pressure, a rigid educational culture, and a lack of communication training. A structured curriculum approach and an inclusive learning environment are necessary to sustainably cultivate compassion competence in health education.
Conclusion: Compassionate care is an essential component in healthcare education that contributes to the formation of empathetic attitudes and patient-centered care. The integration of compassion values into the curriculum through reflective approaches, clinical practice, and mentorship guidance is important to produce competent, humanistic healthcare professionals who are ready to face the challenges of professional practice.
2. Kondaguli SV, Rana S, Balagar N (2023). Compassionate Nursing Care: A Refined Approach to Facilitate Healing – An Expository Perspective Review. Int J Health Sci Res,13(9):68–78.
3. Cooper CM, Gheihman G (2021). The Kind Care Bundle: A Curriculum to Teach Medical Students the Behaviors of Kind, Compassionate Care. MedEdPORTAL,17:11141.
4. Sinclair S, Kondejewski J, Jaggi P, et al (2021). What Is the State of Compassion Education? A Systematic Review of Compassion Training in Health Care. Acad Med, 96(7):1057–70.
5. Brito-Pons G, Librada-Flores S (2018). Compassion In Palliative Care: A Review. Curr Opin Support Palliat Care,12(4):472–9.
6. Ghafourifard M, Zamanzadeh V, Valizadeh L, et al (2022). Compassionate Nursing Care Model: Results from A Grounded Theory Study. Nurs Ethics, 29(3):621–35.
7. Flowers SLD, Guillen-Solà M, Sansó N, Galiana L (2024). Compassionate Care: A Qualitative Exploration Of Nurses’ Inner Resources In The Face Of Burnout. Nurs Rep,14(1):66–77.
8. Jemal K, Samuel A, Geta A, et al (2022). Evaluation of Compassionate and Respectful Care Implementation Status In Model Healthcare Facilities: A Cross-Sectional Study. Arch Public Health, 80(1):84.
9. Malenfant S, Jaggi P, Hayden KA, et al (2022). Compassion In Healthcare: An Updated Scoping Review of The Literature. BMC Palliat Care, 21(1):80.
10. Hooper E, Horton-Deutsch S (2023). Integrating Compassion and Theoretical Premises Of Caring Science Into Undergraduate Health Professions Education. Creat Nurs, 29(1):53–64.
11. Hunter D, McCallum J, Howes D (2018). Compassion In Emergency Departments: Part 1—Nursing Students’ Perspectives. Emerg Nurse, 26(2):25–30.
12. Alquwez N, Cruz JP, Al Thobaity A, et al (2021). Self-Compassion Influences Caring Behaviour and Compassion Competence Among Saudi Nursing Students: A Multi-University Study. Nurs Open, 8(5):2732–42.
13. Yang YS, Liu PC, Lin YK, et al (2021). Medical Students’ Preclinical Service-Learning Experience and Its Effects on Empathy In Clinical Training. BMC Med Educ, 21(1):301.
14. García-Navarro S, García-Navarro EB, Araujo-Hernández M, et al (2024). Approaching Suffering in Young University Students: A Qualitative Study of Undergraduate Nursing Students. Healthcare (Basel), 12(24):2571.
15. Rouleau G, Wu K, Parry M, et al (2024). Providing Compassionate Care in A Virtual Context: Qualitative Exploration of Canadian Primary Care Nurses’ Experiences. Digit Health, 10:20552076231224072.
16. Su JJ, Masika GM, Paguio JT, et al (2020). Defining Compassionate Nursing Care. Nurs Ethics, 27(2):480–93.
17. Levac D, Colquhoun H, O’Brien KK (2010). Scoping Studies: Advancing the Methodology. Implement Sci, 5:69.
18. Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, et al (2009). Preferred Reporting Items For Systematic Reviews And Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. PLoS Med, 6(7): e1000097.
19. Aromataris E, Munn Z, eds (2020). JBI Reviewer’s Manual. Adelaide: JBI.
20. McSherry W, Bloomfield S, Thompson R, et al (2017). Factors Shaping Adult Nursing Students’ Values, Attitudes and Perceptions Of Compassionate Care. J Res Nurs, 22(1–2):25–39.
21. Hilli Y, Sandvik AH (2020). A Nordic Model For Learning Compassionate Care In Clinical Education. Nurse Educ Today, 90:104454.
22. Fopka-Kowalczyk M (2024). Compassion In Palliative Care. In: Spiritual Care in Palliative Care, Springer.
23. Doran D, Phillips J, Board M (2020). Compassionate Care in the Community: Reflections of A Student Nurse. Br J Community Nurs, 25(1):16–21.
24. Adamson E, Dewar B (2015). Compassionate Care: Student Nurses’ Learning Through Reflection and The Use Of Story. Nurse Educ Pract,15(3):155–61.
25. Rodriguez-Moreno S, Rojas B, Roca P (2024). Mechanisms of change in compassion-based programs for medical students. Sci Rep, 14(1):29945.
26. Bickford B, Daley S, Sleater G, et al (2019). Understanding Compassion For People With Dementia In Medical And Nursing Students. BMC Med Educ,19(1):35.
27. Shrivastava S, Shrivastava P, Inkane S, et al (2024). Cultivating empathy in medical education: unlocking the heart of compassionate care. Natl J Community Med,15(1):79–82.
28. Christiansen A, O’Brien MR, Kirton JA, et al (2015). Delivering compassionate care: the enablers and barriers. Br J Nurs,24(16):833–7.
29. Nathoo S, Shaw DG, Sandy PT (2021). Determinants Of Compassion In Providing Care To Older People: Educational Implications. Nurse Educ Today, 101:104878.
30. Ulloque MJ, Villalba S, Foscarini G, et al (2023). Family functioning as an explanatory factor of empathic behaviour in Argentine medical students. Behav Sci (Basel), 13(5):356.
31. Schairer CE, Tutjer J, Cannavino C, et al (2022). Learning To Practice Compassionate Care: Medical Students Discuss Their Most Memorable Lessons. J Patient Exp, 9:23743735221117383.
32. Sundus A, Younas A, Fakhar J, et al (2020). Pakistani Nursing Students’ Perspectives Of Compassion: A Convergent Mixed Methods Study. J Prof Nurs, 36(6):698–706.
33. Yu J, Parsons GS, Lancastle D, et al (2021). Walking In Their Shoes: Effects of An Immersive Digital Story Intervention On Empathy In Nursing Students. Nurs Open, 8(5):2813–23.
34. Hofmeyer A, Toffoli L, Vernon R, et al (2018). Teaching compassionate care to nursing students in a digital learning and teaching environment. Collegian, 25(3):307–12.
35. Dev V, Fernando AT, Kirby JN, et al (2019). Variation in the barriers to compassion across healthcare training and disciplines: a cross-sectional study. Int J Nurs Stud, 90:1–10.
36. Hojat M, DeSantis J, Ney DB, et al (2020). Empathy of medical students and compassionate care for dying patients: assessment of the “No One Dies Alone” program. J Patient Exp, 7(6):1164–8.
37. Mehta KK, Salam S, Hake A, et al (2024). Cultivating Compassion In Medicine: A Toolkit For Medical Students. BMC Med Educ, 24(1):291.
38. Waugh A, Donaldson J (2016). Students’ perceptions of digital narratives of compassionate care. Nurse Educ Pract, 17:22–9.
39. Wang CXY, Pavlova A, Fernando AT, et al (2022). Beyond Empathy Decline: Do The Barriers To Compassion Change Across Medical Training? Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract, 27(2):521–36.
40. Neal A, Waites B, West M (2023). Creating Compassionate Cultures To Support Compassionate Care: Lessons From The Welsh NHS. Clin Psychol Forum, 363:37–44.
41. Tehranineshat B, Rakhshan M, Torabizadeh C, et al (2021). Development and assessment of the psychometric properties of a compassionate care questionnaire for nurses. BMC Nurs, 20(1):190.
42. Sun R, Li J (2024). A review of empathy education with digital means among college students. Int J Emerg Technol Learn, 19(7):81–91.
43. Lane CB, Brauer E, Mascaro JS (2023). Discovering compassion in medical training: a qualitative study with curriculum leaders, educators, and learners. Front Psychol, 14:1184032.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 54 No 11 (2025) | |
| Section | Review Article(s) | |
| Keywords | ||
| Compassionate care Medical student Nursing student Scoping review | ||
| Rights and permissions | |
|
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
