Compassionate care from the perspective of the hospitalized patient
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15649/cuidarte.5399Keywords:
Health Personnel, Inpatients, Professional-Patient Relations, EmpathyAbstract
Highlights
- A qualitative study was conducted from the perspective of interpretive phenomenology, where the perception of “compassionate care” was investigated from the perspective of hospitalized patients and its constituent elements.
- Four categories represented the meaning of compassionate care: “Healing Presence,” “Compassion, an experience of human connection,” “Compassion as a holistic phenomenon of care,” and “Antonyms of compassionate care”.
- Education and communication with patients are central elements of compassionate care, allowing for the establishment of meaningful and humanized bonds in care.
- The way in which healthcare staff convey information and interact with users directly influences the perception of the care received.
Introduction: Compassionate care is essential for the quality of care. However, few studies in our context address patients' perspectives on compassionate care. Objective: To explore patients' perceptions of the elements that constitute compassionate care. Materials and Methods: A qualitative approach using interpretive phenomenology. The participants were hospitalized adults. Convenience sampling was used, with the sample determined by data saturation. Semi-structured interviews were recorded, with prior informed consent and signed consent. Analysis was carried out simultaneously with data collection, through the researchers' interpretation. Units of meaning were identified for each participant and subsequently grouped according to common meanings. Results: Thirteen hospitalized patients participated, interviewed between January and June 2023. The themes that encompass the meaning of compassionate care were Healing Presence, Compassion: An Experience of Human Connection, Compassion as a Holistic Phenomenon of Caring, and The Antonyms of Compassionate Care. Discussion: The topics are related to research findings from different contexts and clinical care settings. Differences and similarities are highlighted, broadening the scope of the phenomenological interpretation of each case. Conclusion: Patient education and communication are central elements of compassionate care, enabling meaningful and humanized relationships in care. The way healthcare providers communicate information and interact with patients directly influences their perception of the care receive.
How to cite this article: López Herrera Francy Edith, González Duque Mayerly Andrea, Zapata Pineros Mariana, Guzmán Vargas María Camila, Vélez Ángel María Clara, Krikorian Alicia. Compassionate care from the perspective of the hospitalized patient. Revista Cuidarte. 2026;17(2):e5399. https://doi.org/10.15649/cuidarte.5399
References
Collantes Delgado D, Clavo Pérez V. atisfacción del paciente hospitalizado frente al cuidado enfermero. Revista FACSalud UNEMI. 2020;4(7):11-22. https://doi.org/10.29076/issn.2602-8360vol4iss7.2020pp11-22p
Acosta-Romo MF, Castro-Bastidas DA, Bravo-Riaño DF. Carga laboral en personal de salud asistencial y administrativo en una institución de II nivel en Colombia. Investigación en Enfermería: Imagen y Desarrollo. 2022;24,1-9. https://revistas.javeriana.edu.co/index.php/imagenydesarrollo/article/view/34203
Cruz Riveros C. La naturaleza del cuidado humanizado. Enfermería: Cuidados Humanizados. 2020;9(1):21-32. https://doi.org/10.22235/ech.v9i1.2146
Sinclair S, Russell LB, Hack TF, Kondejewski J, Sawatzky R. Measuring Compassion in Healthcare: A Comprehensive and Critical Review. The patient. 2017;10:389-405. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40271-016-0209-5
Tala A. Compasión en salud: Una mirada a su pasado, presente y futuro. Revista chilena de neuropsiquiatría. 2023;61(1):127-134. https://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0717-92272023000100127
Tehranineshat B, Russell LB, Hack TF, Kondejewski J, Sawatzky R.Compassionate Care in Healthcare Systems: A Systematic Review. J Natl Med Assoc. 2019;111(5):546-554. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnma.2019.04.002
Cáceres Rivera DI, Torres CC, López Romero LA.Fatiga por compasión y factores relacionados en enfermeras de cuidados intensivos: un estudio multicéntrico. Rev Asoc Esp Espec Med Trab. 2021;30(2):142-150. https://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S3020-11602021000200142
Cavanagh N, Cockett G, Heinrich C, Doig L, K Fiest, Guichonet LR et al. Compassion fatigue in healthcare providers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nursing Ethics. 2020;27(3):639-665. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733019889400
Zaragozá A, Soto-Rubio A, Lacomba-Trejo L, Valero-Moreno S, Pérez-Marín M. Compassion in Spanish-speaking health care: A systematic review. Curr Psychol. 2023;42:6732-6751. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01994-z
Ríos-Henao L, Cañaveral-Castro JF, Krikorian A. Redes comunitarias de cuidadores: acompañamiento a la movilización ciudadana para el cuidado compasivo. Rev. salud pública. 2021;23(3). https://doi.org/10.15446/rsap.v23n3.89931
Samudio ML, Krikorian A, Vélez MC, Librada Flores S, Agudelo V, Franco M. Comunidades compasivas en Colombia para el apoyo a personas con enfermedad avanzada y al final de la vida: uniendo esfuerzos. Med Paliat. 2019;26(4):309-317. https://doi.org/10.20986/medpal.2019.1099/2019
López-Díaz L, Velasquez VF, Rodríguez V, Papadopoulos I. Contraste de perspectivas y experiencias sobre compasión de enfermeras colombianas con 14 países. Duazary. 2019; 16(2):233- 244. https://revistas.unimagdalena.edu.co/index.php/duazary/article/view/2747/2255
Smith JA, Flowers P, Larkin M. Interpretative phenomenological analysis: theory, method and research. London: SAGE Publications; 2009. 225 p.
Velloso ISC, Tizzoni JS. Critérios e estratégias de qualidade e rigor na pesquisa qualitativa. Cienc Enferm. 2020;26(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.29393/ce26-22ceis20022
Colombia. Ministerio de Salud. Resolución número 8430 de 1993, por la cual se establecen las normas científicas, técnicas y administrativas para la investigación en salud. 1993. Consulta Octubre 11, 2025. Disponible en: https://minsalud.gov.co/sites/rid/Lists/BibliotecaDigital/RIDEDE/DIJ/RESOLUCION-8430-DE-1993.pdf
Krikorian A. “Nociones de cuidado compasivo”, Mendeley Data, V1. 2025. https://doi.org/10.17632/7thdptvg88.1
Hermosilla-Ávila AE, Sanhueza-Alvarado O, Chaparro-Díaz L. Cuidado humanizado en pacientes con cáncer avanzado. Una perspectiva desde la diada paciente-familia. Enfermería clínica. 2021;31(5):283-293. https://www.elsevier.es/es-revista-enfermeria-clinica-35-articulocuidado-humanizado-pacientes-con-cancer-S1130862121000796
Cecconello L, Erbs EG, Geisler L. Condutas éticas e o cuidado ao paciente terminal. Revista Bioética. 2022;30(2):405-412. https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-80422022302536PT
Alcalde BF, Sánchez DAR, Carrión CJC, Montero CCO. Percepción de la calidad de cuidados de enfermería en pacientes oncológicos del austro ecuatoriano. Archivos Venezolanos de Farmacología y Terapéutica. 2021;40(7):704-710. https://www.redalyc.org/journal/559/55971545008/html/
Zambrano Arias EY, Rodrí¬guez Vera T. Percepción del usuario sobre la calidad de atención del personal de enfermerí¬a en el área de cirugí¬a del Hospital Naval. Rev Publicando. 2020;7(25):64- 72. https://revistapublicando.org/revista/index.php/crv/article/view/2086
Zapata Villegas PDC. Percepción de la calidad de atención de Enfermería en pacientes hospitalizados en el servicio de un hospital de cuarto nivel, Lima-2019 [Tesis para optar el título profesional de licenciada en enfermería] Perú: Universidad privada Norbert Wiener; 2019. https://repositorio.uwiener.edu.pe/server/api/core/bitstreams/c95dca00-375a-4333-b189-192d634e410b/content
Malenfant S, Jaggi P, Hayden KA, Sinclair S. Compassion in healthcare: an updated scoping review of the literature. BMC Palliat Care. 2022;21:80. https://bmcpalliatcare.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12904-022-00942-3
Garzón Natalia E, Olivella M, Bastidas CV. Conectarnos con la compasión para preservar el cuidado humanizado. Una reflexión acerca del cuidado que brinda la enfermería. Rev. Latinoam. Bioet. 2022;22(2):39-49. https://doi.org/10.18359/rlbi.5339
Alamo-Palomino IJ, Matzumura-Kasano JP, Gutiérrez-Crespo HF. Patient complaints in the adult emergency department of a tertiary referral hospital. Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana. 22020;20(2):246-253. https://dx.doi.org/10.25176/rfmh.v20i2.2916
Pérez DI. Las neuronas espejo. Un caso de estudio de la relación neurociencia-filosofía. Revista De Humanidades De Valparaíso. 2022;20:29-45. https://doi.org/10.22370/rhv2022iss20pp29-45
Blanco M, Guevara B, Mejías De Duatye M. La compasión como elemento clave de la práctica profesional en las instituciones de salud. Benessere. 2021;6(1). https://iace.uv.cl/index.php/Benessere/article/view/3039
Parada DA. La gestión hospitalaria y el servicio de enfermería: una visión desde la perspectiva del paciente. Revista Científica Multidimensional Magna Sapientia. 2025;3(1).
Duque-Ortiz C, Arias-Valencia MM. Relación enfermera-familia. Más allá de la apertura de puertas y horarios. Enfermería Intensiva. 2020;31(4):192-202. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1130239920300250
Nembhard IM, David G, Ezzeddine I, Betts D, Radin J. A systematic review of research on empathy in health care. Health Serv Res.2023;58(2):250-263. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1475-6773.14016
Batbaatar E, Dorjdagva J, Luvsannyam A, Savino MM, Amenta P. Determinants of patient satisfaction: a systematic review. Perspect Public Health. 2017;137(2):89-101. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913916634136
Meneses-La-Riva ME, Suyo-Vega JA, Fernández-Bedoya VH. Humanized Care From the Nurse- Patient Perspective in a Hospital Setting: A Systematic Review of Experiences Disclosed in Spanish and Portuguese Scientific Articles. Front Public Health. 2021;9:737506. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.737506
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Downloads
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Revista Cuidarte
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Journal Cuidarte, scientific publication of open access, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY-NC), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
Any other form of use such as reproduction, transformation, public communication or distribution, for profit, requires the prior authorization of the University of Santander UDES.
The names and e-mail addresses entered in the Journal Cuidarte will be used exclusively for the purposes stated by this magazine and will not be available for any other purpose or other person.
The articles published in the Journal Cuidarte represent the criteria of their authors and do not necessarily constitute the official opinion of the University of Santander UDES.
