The Important Value of Nursing “Compassionate Care”

Background Although the number of studies on the reflection of compassionate care practices in patient experiences has increased in recent years, the issue is still not sufficiently studied and clearly defined, and no study has been conducted with patients living with a cancer diagnosis in Türkiye. Objective This study aimed to examine the perspectives of compassionate care and compassionate care experiences of cancer patients in-depth using qualitative methods. Methods Between March and August 2024, 22 phenomenological semistructured interviews were conducted with cancer patients. The data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s 7-step descriptive analysis approach. Results Five themes emerged from the analysis: (1) compassionate care behaviors, (2) noncompassionate care behaviors, (3) the value of compassionate care for the patients, (4) perceptions of compassionate care barriers, and (5) suggestions to improve compassionate care. Conclusions Compassionate care from cancer patients’ perspectives involves being friendly, respectful, and responsive to needs, whereas noncompassionate care behaviors mainly involve ineffective communication skills. Compassionate care has a positive effect on the outcomes of cancer patients with a long and challenging treatment journey. On the contrary, it may adversely affect communication, leading to an increase in unmet needs and a poor impact on cancer prognosis. Implications for Practice Cancer nurses should be trained to gain awareness of compassionate care and practices to ensure compassionate care, and training should be repeated regularly. For institution managers, reducing the patient-nurse ratio, monitoring cancer nurses for compassion fatigue, implementing prevention and coping programs, and creating a corporate culture to provide compassionate care are recommended.