The relationship between nurses’ compassion fatigue and patient safety attitudes: a cross-sectional study

Compassion fatigue is a significant occupational risk for nurses and has been associated with a decline in the quality of care and negative attitudes toward patient safety. This study examined the relationship between nurses’ compassion fatigue and their attitudes toward patient safety. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted between May and August 2025 at two public hospitals in a region in eastern Turkey. All 650 nurses working at these hospitals were invited to participate in the study. A total of 368 nurses who volunteered to participate in the study and fully completed the survey forms were included in the study using convenience sampling (participation rate: 56.6%). The following were used in data collection: “Identifying Characteristics Data Form, Compassion Fatigue Short Scale, and Patient Safety Attitude Scale”. The mean total scores for the Compassion Fatigue Short Scale (60.79 ± 23.89) and the Patient Safety Attitude Scale (146.48 ± 27.09) were moderate, and a moderate, statistically significant negative relationship was found between them ( r = -.383; p < .001). After controlling for demographic and occupational characteristics, compassion fatigue remained a significant predictor of patient safety attitudes (β = -0.273; p < .001; ∆R 2 = 0.057), and the final model explained 28.6% of the variance (Adjusted R 2 = 0.264). In bivariate analyses, nurses who had chosen the profession voluntarily, and reported greater professional commitment and had children had lower compassion fatigue and more positive attitudes toward patient safety. In this study, high levels of compassion fatigue were associated with more negative attitudes toward patient safety. Structured psychological support programs, resilience training, and patient safety education programs that address compassion fatigue can help strengthen nurses’ attitudes toward patient safety. It would be helpful to conduct longitudinal, multicenter studies to clarify causal relationships.