This multicenter cross-sectional study investigated the association between empathy and compassion fatigue among nurses employed in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units. The authors sought to quantify levels of empathy and compassion fatigue in this high-acuity nursing population and to examine how empathy and selected occupational or sociodemographic factors related to compassion fatigue.
The study used a cross-sectional design and was conducted at three hospitals in Turkey. Data collection included a sociodemographic and occupational form alongside two standardized instruments: the Jefferson Scale of Empathy and the Compassion Fatigue Short Scale. The study is described as multicenter in the source.
Sixty-five nurses participated in the study, representing 90.3% of the predefined target population for the participating units. Participant-level details reported in the abstract include measures of empathy and compassion fatigue but do not provide further breakdown of age, gender distribution, years of experience, specific unit types (beyond neonatal and pediatric intensive care), or other characteristics in the abstract.
Empathy was measured with the Jefferson Scale of Empathy; compassion fatigue was assessed using the Compassion Fatigue Short Scale. The abstract reports group means and standard deviations for both instruments: mean empathy 79.77 ± 8.69 and mean compassion fatigue 52.09 ± 20.44.
The investigators used Pearson correlation to examine bivariate associations between empathy and compassion fatigue and applied linear regression to assess the contribution of empathy to variation in compassion fatigue. Group comparisons (for example, voluntary choice of nursing and weekly working hours) were made and reported with means, standard deviations, and p values. Exact model specifications and adjustment covariates, beyond the reporting that empathy explained a portion of variance in compassion fatigue, were not detailed in the abstract.
Participation: 65 nurses (90.3% of the target population across the three hospitals).
Instrument scores: Mean empathy score was 79.77 (±8.69) and mean compassion fatigue score was 52.09 (±20.44).
Correlation: A moderate positive correlation between empathy and compassion fatigue was observed (r = 0.484), indicating that, in this sample, higher empathy scores were associated with higher compassion fatigue scores.
Regression: Empathy accounted for 22.2% of the variance in compassion fatigue (R² = 0.222). Reported regression coefficients were B = 1.139 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.621 to 1.657 and p < 0.001.
Voluntary choice: Nurses who reported having voluntarily chosen nursing had lower compassion fatigue scores than those who had not (49.14 ± 19.39 vs 61.93 ± 21.42; p = 0.032).
Working hours: Nurses who reported working more than 50 hours per week had higher empathy scores (84.06 ± 11.58 vs 78.82 ± 6.46; p = 0.046). Weekly hours over 50 were not associated with higher compassion fatigue in the abstract.
In this sample of neonatal and pediatric intensive care nurses, greater empathy was associated with increased compassion fatigue. The positive correlation and the regression result indicate that empathy explained a meaningful portion of interindividual variation in compassion fatigue (approximately 22%). The findings suggest that empathy, while a core clinical attribute for patient-centered care, may also place clinicians at higher risk for compassion-related psychological burden in high-intensity pediatric settings.
The association between voluntary choice of nursing and lower compassion fatigue suggests that career motivation or vocational fit may moderate risk. The link between longer work hours and higher empathy, without a concurrent increase in compassion fatigue, was observed in the abstract but not further explained there.
These outcomes may have implications for workforce support strategies in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, including interventions aimed at mitigating compassion fatigue while preserving empathic care. The abstract does not report specific recommendations or tested interventions.
The abstract does not present details on several common methodological elements: sampling frame beyond the number of hospitals, recruitment procedures, response bias assessment, full sociodemographic breakdown, whether analyses adjusted for potential confounders, instrument administration timing, or ethical approvals. The abstract likewise does not report limitations, follow-up, or causal inferences beyond the cross-sectional design. These items were not reported in the source abstract.
Among nurses working in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units in this multicenter Turkish sample, higher empathy scores were positively associated with higher compassion fatigue scores. Voluntarily choosing nursing was associated with lower compassion fatigue, and working more than 50 hours per week was associated with higher empathy but not higher compassion fatigue. The study highlights a potential trade-off between empathic engagement and emotional burden in intensive pediatric nursing settings and identifies areas for further study and workforce support.