Compassion as a Predictor of Patient Advocacy in Nursing Students: Cross-Sectional Study

This study aimed to evaluate nursing students' levels of compassion and patient advocacy, to explore the relationship between these constructs, and to identify individual factors associated with compassion. A cross-sectional design was employed with 287 undergraduate nursing students from a single university. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Compassion Scale, and the Patient Advocacy Scale for Nurses. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, analysis of variance, and simple linear regression. The mean patient advocacy score was 153.40, and the mean compassion score was 95.69. While advocacy scores did not significantly differ across demographic variables, compassion scores were significantly higher among female students, those who voluntarily chose nursing, those from rural backgrounds, and final-year students (p<0.05). Regression analysis revealed that compassion positively predicted patient advocacy, explaining 16% of the variance. Overall, nursing students demonstrated high levels of both compassion and advocacy, reflecting the importance of these qualities in professional nursing practice. Compassion emerged as a strong predictor of advocacy behaviors, underscoring its central role in promoting ethical, patient-centered care. These findings suggest that incorporating compassion-focused educational strategies and experiential learning opportunities into nursing curricula and clinical training may further enhance students' advocacy skills, contribute to their professional growth, and improve the overall quality and safety of healthcare services.