The impact of knowledge brokering on nurses’ empathy with patients receiving cardiac care: an experimental study

Patients with cardiovascular diseases often experience fear of death, depression and anxiety, all of which are linked to a heightened risk of future cardiac events. Research indicates that improved empathy is associated with a reduced risk of such events, making the enhancement of empathy among cardiac nurses crucial. Knowledge brokering, a strategy that utilises various interventions to strengthen practice, is key to achieving this. This study aims to examine the impact of knowledge brokering on nurses' empathy towards patients receiving cardiac care. This experimental study involved 100 cardiac nurses who were randomly assigned to control and intervention groups. The intervention group received knowledge brokering using Dobbin's seven-stage method. Empathy levels were measured using the Empathy Construct Rating Scale (ECRS), with scores ranging from +252 to -252, and analysed using SPSS version 21. Findings showed a significant mean empathy change score (MECS) of 22.90 ± 50.93 in the intervention group (p=0.003) compared to 7.10 ± 60.20 in the control group (p=0.408). Notably, nurses with a baseline empathy score of ≥100 in the intervention group exhibited a significantly higher adjusted MECS than the control group (11.44 units versus -15.42 units). Knowledge brokering can enhance empathy in moderately empathic cardiac nurses, with its effectiveness influenced by the nurses' initial empathy levels. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the knowledge brokering strategy in healthcare settings.