The Effects Of Mindfulness Self-Compassion On The Altruistic Level Of ICU Nurses

ObjectivesTo explore the current level of altruism among ICU nurses,analyze the correlation between altruism and self-compassion,personality traits,and explore the influencing factors of altruism among nurses.To construct a An Internet-based four-week Mindfulness Self-Compassion intervention program to explore its effects and mechanism on the altruistic level of nurses,and to provide a practical basis for the intervention of altruism level of ICU nurses.Methods1.Cross-sectional survey: From May to July 2021,a cross-sectional study was conducted on 337 ICU nurses from three tertiary hospitals in Chengdu,Sichuan Province,using the Chinese version of the Altruistic Behavior Scale,the Chinese version of the Self-Compassion Scale,and the Chinese Big Five Personality Inventory brief version.The data were cleaned and imported into SPSS 26.0 for statistical analysis,including descriptive statistics,univariate analysis,Spearman correlation analysis,and canonical correlation analysis.2.Mixed method study: a mixed method of sequential interpretation was adopted.The first stage was a self-controlled before and after trial.25 ICU nurses were included in the Internet-based four-week Mindfulness Self-Compassion intervention program,and their altruistic level and self-compassion level was measured before and after the intervention.Among them,5 people dropped out,and finally 20 ICU nurses completed the study.The data were imported into SPSS 26.0 software,and paired sample t-test was used to analyze the differences in altruistic level and self-compassion level before and after the intervention.The second stage was qualitative interviews.The semi-structured interview method was used to collect data on the mechanism of mindfulness selfcompassion affecting the altruistic level of ICU nurses.A total of 8 people were interviewed.Using Nvivo 12 software combined with manual labor,and using thematic analysis method for content analysis.Results1.The mean score of altruism among ICU nurses was 91.98 ± 23.20,and the mean score of self-care was 85.03 ± 11.01.Differences in altruism were statistically significant in terms of whether the nurse was an only child(P = 0.014),the number of night shifts per week(P = 0.005),and job satisfaction(P < 0.001).Altruism was positively correlated with self-compassion(r = 0.211),agreeableness(r = 0.436),conscientiousness(r = 0.428),openness(r = 0.334),and extraversion(r = 0.182).Altruism and self-compassion had a strong linear relationship(canonical correlation coefficient = 0.55,eigenvalue = 0.433,Wilks’ Lambda = 0.676,P < 0.001).2.The difference in the level of altruism and self-compassion before and after the intervention was statistically significant(P < 0.001).From the interview results,four themes were extracted: the meaning of altruism in nursing,altruistic behavior in nursing,effects of Mindfulness Self-Compassion on the altruistic level of ICU nurses and the psychological experience of occurring altruistic behavior,in which three sub-themes were extracted from the theme of effects of Mindfulness Self-Compassion on the altruistic level of ICU nurses,namely,communal humanity,positive practice,and compassion.Conclusion1.The level of altruism among ICU nurses is relatively low.In addition,the altruistic level of ICU nurses was positively correlated with the level of self-compassion and agreeableness,conscientiousness,openness,and extraversion in the big five personality traits,among which the correlation with agreeableness and conscientiousness was stronger.This suggests that ICU nursing managers should pay attention to the altruistic level of ICU nurses,especially the ICU nurses with lower agreeableness and conscientiousness,and give appropriate intervention measures.2.An Internet-based four-week Mindfulness Self-Compassion intervention program can improve the altruistic level of ICU nurses,and its mechanism is that mindful selfcompassion inspires ICU nurses’ altruistic behaviors through common humanity,mindfulness and loving-kindness.An Internet-based four-week Mindfulness SelfCompassion intervention program uses an online intervention method to improve the feasibility of the intervention.In future research,the main elements of mindful selfcompassion curriculum design could be common humanity,mindfulness,and lovingkindness.