Correlation between self-awareness, communication ability and caring ability of undergraduate nursing students/A cross-sectional study

Caring ability is the core ability of nursing. Here we explored the factors affecting the caring ability of undergraduate nursing students. Self-awareness and communication ability are potential variables to improve caring ability. To explore the relationship between self-awareness, communication ability and caring ability of domestic undergraduate nursing students and to explore whether communication ability has an intermediary effect between self-awareness and caring ability. A descriptive cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire. Undergraduate nursing students (n = 1411) who attended Dalian Medical University, Liaoning, China. Participants were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling methods using online platforms. The questionnaire used the Self-Consciousness Scale, Clinical Communication Competence Evaluation Scale and Caring Ability Inventory. The data were processed and analyzed by SPSS 24.0 and Amos 23.0. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis and structural equation modeling were performed for data analysis. There was a significant positive correlation between undergraduate nursing students' caring ability and their self-awareness and communication ability (p < 0.001). Communication ability played a partial mediating role between self-awareness and caring ability (p < 0.001), and the mediating effect was 34.2 %. The self-awareness of undergraduate nursing students directly affects their caring ability and can also indirectly affect their caring ability through their communication ability. Educators can guide and cultivate student self-awareness and communication ability and promote self-regulation, so as to improve students' caring ability and improve clinical development.