NCT07340086

Mobilization of Emotions and Empathy During Communication Training in Nursing Students

Assessment of Emotional and Empathic Involvement During Simulation-Based Communication Training in Nursing Students

• Status: Active Not Recruiting
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 9 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Padova · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: —
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Effective communication in healthcare is vital for patient satisfaction, safety, outcomes, and ethical practice, supporting shared decision-making and informed consent. Simulation-based training is widely used to strengthen communication skills and foster empathy through emotionally engaging experiences. This is a pilot study aimed (1) to assess changes in emotional state and empathy in nursing students after a simulation-based workshop (SBW) on delivering bad news, and (2) to evaluate the sensitivity of standardized scales in detecting these changes.

Detailed description

In this observational, longitudinal study, fourth-year nursing students (Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina - Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, Buenos Aires) attended a curricular six-hour SBW divided into three sessions. In Session 1, students discussed the SPIKE protocol for communication of bad news, and a clinical case, completing a baseline Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). In Session 2, students performed role-plays with simulated patients (SPs), immediately after which the students registered their emotional reflections (ER), completing the Jefferson Scale of Empathy for Health Professionals (JSE-HP), the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE) adapted for nursing communication and repeated PANAS; instructors and SPs also completed JSPPPE. In Session 3, students participated in debriefing and repeated ER, JSE-HP and JSPPPE. PANAS is a mood scale with 20 items, 10 positive (PA) and 10 negative (NA). High PA means "enthusiastic and motivated"; low PA means "lethargic and sad." High NA means "angry and disgusted"; low NA means "calm and serene." JSE-HP is a 20-item empathy scale for healthcare settings. It measures how well a healthcare professional understands and communicates a patient's perspective. The 7-point Likert scale ranges from 20 to 140. JSPPE is a 5-item patient-completed empathy scale for healthcare professionals. It uses a 1-to-7 Likert scale to assess understanding, concern, and perspective-taking. Max score: 35 points.

Conditions

• Education Nursing
• Communication Skills
• Ethics Education
• Empathy
• Simulation Based Learning

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-08-01
• Primary completion: 2025-08-15
• Completion: 2026-08-01
• First posted: 2026-01-14
• Last updated: 2026-01-21

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Argentina