The impact of nurses’ health literacy and compassion on patient-centered care in the integrated nursing-care service wards

Purpose: This descriptive survey study aimed to investigate the impact of the health literacy and compassion competencies of nurses in integrated nursing care service wards on patient-centered care.Methods: This study included 185 nurses working in integrated nursing care service wards in four tertiary hospitals located in Chungbuk and Gyeonggi provinces. Data analysis involved independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and stepwise multiple regression analysis.Results: Regarding participants’ general characteristics, nurses with less than five years of clinical experience (t=2.30, p=.023) demonstrated a more positive attitude toward utilizing health literacy in their professional practice. The factors influencing patient-centered care included communication (β=.35, p<.001) and sensitivity (β=.21, p=.018) from compassion competence, as well as knowledge (β=.20, p=.004) from health literacy competencies, which together explained 42.0% of the variance (F=45.98, p<.001).Conclusion: This study shows that health literacy and compassion are critical factors in enhancing patient-centered care in integrated nursing-care service wards. To improve these competencies of nurses, it is necessary to provide an appropriate working environment and to offer continuous training programs with various training methods. Furthermore, research on health literacy competencies tailored to the domestic context is necessary.