Influence of Spirituality and Job Satisfaction on the Compassion Competence of Hospice Nurses

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine the influence of spirituality and job satisfaction on the compassion competence of hospice nurses. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of 118 hospice nurses from 16 hospitals in Daejeon, Chungcheong Province, and Jeolla Province. A self-administered survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire including the Spirituality Scale, Index of Work Satisfaction, the Compassion Competence Scale for Nurses, and general socio-demographic information. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the t-test, Pearson correlation coefficients, and hierarchical linear regression analysis using SPSS for Windows version 26.0. RESULTS: Compassion competence was correlated with spirituality (r=0.66, P<0.001) and job satisfaction (r=0.52, P<0.001), and spirituality was correlated with job satisfaction (r=0.44, P<0.001). Spirituality (β=0.513, P<0.001) and job satisfaction (β=0.273, P<0.001) were significant factors affecting the compassion competence of hospice nurses, after adjusting for the sociodemographic and work-related covariates. The step-by-step results from hierarchical linear regression analysis also indicated that spirituality had a stronger impact than job satisfaction on compassion competence. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate the importance of spirituality, which plays a role in guiding the compassion competence of hospice nurses. It is necessary to support the spirituality and job satisfaction of hospice nurses, which could facilitate their compassion competence and thereby contribute to improving the quality of hospice and palliative care.