ArticleBMC nursing2026
The relationship between compassionate love, burnout levels and caring behaviors of intensive care nurses: the mediating role of compassion fatigue.
Article in BMC nursing, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Compassion Fatigue and Patient-Facing Care Delivery Among Hospital Nurses: A Scoping Review of Empirical Relationships and Work-Related Conditions.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2026Review
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4 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundIntensive care nurses are frequently exposed to emotionally demanding environments that challenge their ability to sustain compassionate care. These stressors may compromise their emotional well-being, leading to compassion fatigue, burnout, and reduced quality of caring behaviors. This study aimed to examine the relationship between compassion fatigue, burnout, and caring behaviors among intensive care nurses.
methodThis correlational and cross-sectional study was conducted in adult ICUs of several public and private hospitals across Türkiye between October 2024 and April 2025. A total of 323 ICU nurses who met the inclusion criteria voluntarily completed an online Google Forms survey. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Compassionate Love Scale, the Short Compassion Fatigue Scale, the Burnout Syndrome Assessment Scale for ICU Nurses, and the Caring Behaviors Inventory-24. Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and partial mediation analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 27.0). The study was reported in accordance with the STROBE guidelines.
resultsAll nurses who were enrolled in the study provided complete responses. Most participants were female (81.1%) and held a bachelor’s degree (90.4%). The mean age was 30.4 ± 5.68 years, and the mean duration of professional experience was 8.5 ± 8.3 years. The mean scores for compassionate love, compassion fatigue, burnout, and caring behaviors were 99.7 ± 14.8, 68.7 ± 21.7, 44.5 ± 18.6, and 4.74 ± 0.94, respectively. Compassionate love was negatively correlated with compassion fatigue (r = −0.36, p < 0.001) and burnout (r = −0.30, p < 0.001), and positively correlated with caring behaviors (r = 0.30, p < 0.001). Compassion fatigue was positively correlated with burnout (r = 0.42, p < 0.001) and negatively with caring behaviors (r = −0.26, p < 0.001). Partial mediation analyses showed that compassion fatigue partially mediated the relationship between compassionate love and both burnout (β = −0.127, 95% CI = −0.188, −0.069) and caring behaviors (β = 0.062, 95% CI = 0.018, 0.108). Given the cross-sectional design of the study, causal inferences could not be established.
conclusionCompassion fatigue partially mediates the relationships between compassionate love, burnout, and caring behaviors among intensive care nurses. These findings indicate that compassion fatigue is a key factor linking the emotional capacities of nurses to burnout and caring behaviors in clinical practice, while also highlighting the relevance of compassion-related constructs for nursing education, research, and management in intensive care settings. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Compassion fatigue is a clinically relevant factor associated with burnout and caring behaviors, indicating its importance in identifying nurses at risk for reduced quality of care in intensive care settings.
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