Caring Behavior and Associated Factors among Nurses Working in Selected Public Hospitals in Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Caring behaviours of the nurses affect the quality of care and clinical outcomes which in turn signifi­cantly influences clients’ satisfaction with the services. Though several studies have been conducted regarding nurses’ caring behaviours, understanding the entire aspects of nurses' caring behaviours is vital to improving the quality of care. Moreover, the relationship between nurses’ emotional intelligence and level of caring behaviour was also unex­plored in the study setting. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the level of caring behaviours and associated factors among nurses working in selected public hospitals in Southern Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed among 422 nurses randomly selected from three hospitals in Southern Ethiopia May 1-30, 2022. The English version of the CBI-24 Nurse scale with four domains was used to determine the level of caring behaviours. Then it was classified as good and poor nurses’ caring behaviours based on the mean score. Binary logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with nurses’ caring behaviours. Finally, an adjusted odd ratio (AOR) along with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to decide the strength and direction of the association at p-value ≤ 0.05. 

Results: The study found that 70.8% (95% 66.0-74.9) of nurses had good caring behaviours. Being bachelor's and master’s degree holders (AOR=3.18; 95% CI:1.03-9.82), high emotional intelligence (AOR=2.97; 95% CI:1.51-5.84), job satisfaction (AOR=3.00, 95% CI:1.56-5.79), nurse-physician collaboration (AOR=3.43, 95% CI:1.76-6.7) and satisfaction with profession (AOR=3.31, 95% CI: 1.64-6.69) were found to be factors associated with the nurses’ caring behaviours.

Conclusion: The study suggested that about seven out of ten nurses had a good level of caring behaviours. Being holders of bachelor's and master’s degrees, high emotional intelligence, nurse-physician collaboration, and satisfaction with the current job, and the profession were found to be the predictors of good nurses’ caring behaviours. Therefore, designing interventions that boost nurses’ emotional intelligence, collaboration of nurses with physicians, and job satisfaction with their current are important to improve the extent of caring behaviours.