Association Between Empathy and Readiness to Deliver Psychological First Aid among Undergraduate Nursing Students in Iraq
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Objective: This study aimed to assess empathy levels and readiness to deliver psychological first aid among undergraduate nursing students in Iraq, and to examine the association between empathy and readiness to deliver psychological first aid.
Methods and Materials: A descriptive correlational study was conducted among 637 third- and fourth-year nursing students from six public universities across northern, central, and southern Iraq. Stratified multistage cluster sampling was used. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Jefferson Scale of Empathy–Health Professions Student Version (20–140), and a PFA self-assessment questionnaire (20–100). Descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rank correlation, and non-parametric tests (Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis) were used. Significance was set at p < 0.05.
Findings: The mean age was 22 ± 2.5 years; 57.8% were female. Students’ mean empathy score was 94.09 ± 16.81, reflecting moderate empathy; 38.8% scored high, 55.7% moderate. The mean PFA readiness score was 79.45 ± 12.51, reflecting high readiness; 76.1% scored high. A significant positive correlation was observed between empathy and PFA readiness (r = .398, p < .001). Empathy differed significantly by university (p = .001) and monthly income (p = .042). PFA readiness differed by university (p = .004), academic year (p = .038), and academic achievement (p = .014).
Conclusion: Empathy is positively associated with readiness to provide PFA. Nursing education should integrate structured PFA training to strengthen students’ emotional competence and crisis-response preparedness.
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