Palliative care attitudes, patient-centered care perception, and communication competency among nurses caring for patients with heart failure: a cross-sectional study

Background Communication is central to nursing care for patients with heart failure; however, the factors associated with nurses’ communication competency in this population remain insufficiently understood. This study aimed to examine factors associated with communication competency, including attitudes toward palliative care and perception of patient-centered care, among nurses caring for patients with heart failure. Methods A descriptive correlational study design was used. Participants were 123 nurses employed at a tertiary hospital who had at least one year of clinical experience and had cared for patients with heart failure during the preceding year. Data were collected using structured questionnaires measuring palliative care attitudes, perception of patient-centered care, and communication competency. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis. Results Communication competency showed significant positive correlations with both palliative care attitudes and perception of patient-centered care. Multiple regression analysis indicated that perception of patient-centered care showed the strongest association with communication competency (β = 0.74, p < .001), followed by palliative care attitudes (β = 0.16, p = .003) and working in the emergency department (β = -0.16, p=.021); the model explained 69.0% of the variance. Conclusions Enhancing nurses’ perception of patient-centered care and fostering positive attitudes toward palliative care may be key strategies for improving communication competency among nurses caring for patients with heart failure. Tailored educational programs and organizational support that address the unique challenges of heart failure care are needed to strengthen therapeutic communication competency. However, given the cross-sectional design, these findings should be interpreted as associations rather than causal relationships. Clinical trial number Not applicable.