A Concept Analysis of Empathy

This concept analysis is based on Walker and Avant’s (1995) model. Data was collected from a number of search engines in July 2010 and an inclusion and exclusion criteria was added. A final search was completed in January 2011 to make the analysis as up to date as possible. There were 94 papers, but...

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Main Author: Firth, Hannah
Format: Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
English
Published: 2011
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/24810/
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author Firth, Hannah
author_facet Firth, Hannah
author_sort Firth, Hannah
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description This concept analysis is based on Walker and Avant’s (1995) model. Data was collected from a number of search engines in July 2010 and an inclusion and exclusion criteria was added. A final search was completed in January 2011 to make the analysis as up to date as possible. There were 94 papers, but only 39 were appropriate for review. The following themes were found from the review of resources; empathy as a feeling, skill, relationship and response, communicating empathy, patient outcomes, environmental influences and variables. From this, the defining new defining attributes of empathy were decided upon. These were empathy as a skill, empathy as a feeling, empathy as a communicative process, empathy in a relationship and empathy as a response. The Cases were then presented based on a nurse-patient relationship within a clinical setting. The antecedents of empathy are; patient distress, identification, intention of knowing, emotional stability, intellectual ability and time to care. The consequences of empathy are; the validation of the patient’s feelings, an action plan is put in place, positive patient outcomes and detachment. Government publications related to empathy, ‘standard text’ and empathy measuring tools are discussed within the empirical referents. Recommendations on how empathy can be implemented into practice are then discussed. The ability to empathise is an advanced nursing skill. The nurse must detect the patient’s distress and genuinely want to help them. The nurse- patient relationship must be patient centred and reciprocal. The nurse should understand what their patient is going through by transposing themselves into the patient’s world, reflecting on what they have heard and communicating their understanding back to the patient to prevent misinterpretation. The nurse should appropriately respond to the patient’s distress so they can take more control of their care. The nurse must then detach him/herself from the situation to prevent burnout.
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language English
English
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spelling nottingham-248102022-03-21T16:09:19Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/24810/ A Concept Analysis of Empathy Firth, Hannah This concept analysis is based on Walker and Avant’s (1995) model. Data was collected from a number of search engines in July 2010 and an inclusion and exclusion criteria was added. A final search was completed in January 2011 to make the analysis as up to date as possible. There were 94 papers, but only 39 were appropriate for review. The following themes were found from the review of resources; empathy as a feeling, skill, relationship and response, communicating empathy, patient outcomes, environmental influences and variables. From this, the defining new defining attributes of empathy were decided upon. These were empathy as a skill, empathy as a feeling, empathy as a communicative process, empathy in a relationship and empathy as a response. The Cases were then presented based on a nurse-patient relationship within a clinical setting. The antecedents of empathy are; patient distress, identification, intention of knowing, emotional stability, intellectual ability and time to care. The consequences of empathy are; the validation of the patient’s feelings, an action plan is put in place, positive patient outcomes and detachment. Government publications related to empathy, ‘standard text’ and empathy measuring tools are discussed within the empirical referents. Recommendations on how empathy can be implemented into practice are then discussed. The ability to empathise is an advanced nursing skill. The nurse must detect the patient’s distress and genuinely want to help them. The nurse- patient relationship must be patient centred and reciprocal. The nurse should understand what their patient is going through by transposing themselves into the patient’s world, reflecting on what they have heard and communicating their understanding back to the patient to prevent misinterpretation. The nurse should appropriately respond to the patient’s distress so they can take more control of their care. The nurse must then detach him/herself from the situation to prevent burnout. 2011 Dissertation (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/24810/1/Acknowledgements_abstract_content.pdf application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/24810/2/Dissertation.pdf Firth, Hannah (2011) A Concept Analysis of Empathy. [Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)] (Unpublished)
spellingShingle Firth, Hannah
A Concept Analysis of Empathy
title A Concept Analysis of Empathy
title_full A Concept Analysis of Empathy
title_fullStr A Concept Analysis of Empathy
title_full_unstemmed A Concept Analysis of Empathy
title_short A Concept Analysis of Empathy
title_sort concept analysis of empathy
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/24810/