Influence of empathy and attitude towards death affecting spiritual care of end-of-life patients among nursing students in higher education institutions in Northern Thailand
Abstract:
This research aimed to examine the levels of empathy, attitudes toward death, and spiritual care for end-of-life patients among nursing students in higher education institutions in Northern Thailand. The analysis was conducted across the entire sample and sub-groups, classified by academic year and type of institution. Additionally, the study explored the influence of empathy and attitudes toward death on the provision of spiritual care. A stratified random sampling method was employed, resulting in 492 participants. Data were collected through an online questionnaire comprising four sections: demographic information, empathy assessment, attitude toward death evaluation, and spiritual care measurement. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a causal structural relationship model.The results indicated that in a group of nursing students, there is a relatively high level of empathy, a moderate attitude toward death, and a high level of spiritual care. When considered a sub-group, most samples had a high level of empathy, except that of senior students, and students from private university institutions were likely high. When considered a sub-group, most samples had a high level of empathy, except that of senior students, and students from private university institutions were likely high. In addition, the majority of the sample group had a moderate attitude towards death. Further, the spiritual care of most samples was high, whereas that of the students from institutions under Boromarajonani College of Nursing was likely high.Regarding the causal relationship of spiritual care of nursing students, the developed model was consistent with the empirical data: Chi-square (χ2) was 52.502, df was 20, χ2/df was 2.625, RMSEA was 0.058, SRMR was 0.033, GFI was .978, AGFI was .950, and CN was 352.321. All path coefficients were statistically significant at the .05 level. Empathy directly affected spiritual care, with a coefficient of .580, explaining 33.70 % of its variance. These results highlight the critical role of empathy in enhancing the quality of spiritual care provided by nursing students to end-of-life patients. Furthermore, only empathy influenced the variance of spiritual care at 33.70%.