COVID-19 pandemic gives a new meaning to self-compassion thinking. Nurses in various fields or settings (e.g., hospital, CoViD19 isolation facility, community) provide care to patients and families who may be suffering and traumatized from the ongoing disease outbreak. Thus, it is necessary to illuminate the concept of self-compassion to respond to the holistic needs of the nurses who are at risk of developing compassion fatigue and burnout. This paper aims to examine the concept of self-compassion as it relates to nursing using simplified Rodgers' (2010) evolutionary concept analysis. Rodger's evolutionary concept analysis is an inductive method of analysis wherein concepts are viewed to develop over time and are highly influenced by the context in which they are used. The data source was a search of literature published from 2010-2020 on CINAHL, Google Scholar, and Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition. The sifting process is utilized to ensure a comprehensive electronic database search. This evolutionary concept analysis found four attributes of self-compassion in nursing: mindful attention, self-mastery, selfkindness, and shared humanity. Regarding the antecedents of self-compassion, it is necessary to experience suffering, an event, or a traumatic encounter. Consequently, these may result in compassionate care, positive well-being, and quality nursing care. In the nursing context, compassion toward self has been seen to subtle. During the continually evolving Covid-19 pandemic, nurses must be empowered to continuously envisage self-compassion in their daily practice. Frequent practice of compassion towards self can potentially appreciate this way of being in the nursing discipline and the patients, families, or communities for which nurses compassionately care for and serve.
Self-Compassion ; Nursing ; COVID-19

Background: Healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) are adverse events brought about by non-compliance of the healthcare staff to set of infection prevention and control (IPC) standards. Consequently, additional medical costs, increased mortality and morbidity rates, and decreased quality of life among patients can happen. As valuable players in preventing and controlling HAIs, nurses must have good knowledge and strict compliance with infection control; however, recent evidence suggests that nurses may need more knowledge or better integration into practice. Nurses' degree of knowledge and practice in preventing and controlling HAIs and factors influencing them should be determined to provide solutions appropriately. Objectives: The study specifically sought answers to the following questions: (1) What is the level of knowledge of nurses in the prevention and control of HAIs? (2) What is the degree of practice of nurses in the prevention and control of HAIs? (3) Is there a significant relationship between nurses' knowledge level and degree of practice in the prevention and control of HAIs? (4) What are the facilitating and hindering factors that affect nurses' practice in the prevention and control of HAIs? Methods: The study utilized a quantitative descriptive correlational design. The study was conducted from May to June 2023 at a private tertiary hospital in Baguio City. The study included 128 nurses who fit the inclusion criteria. The respondents were asked to answer three questionnaires, and the data were statistically treated using mean, Spearman Rank correlation, frequency, percentage, and rank distribution. Results: The study found that nurses possess good knowledge and a suboptimal degree of practice in preventing and controlling HAIs. The results showed that no significant relationship existed between nurses' knowledge level and degree of practice in preventing and controlling HAIs. Perceived personal benefits and organizational encouragement were seen to primarily facilitate the prevention and control practices of nurses. The primary hindrance identified was workload due to staff shortage, poor dissemination of guidelines, and personal discomfort associated with the use of PPE. Conclusions A good level of knowledge is a derivative of learnings obtained through various educational modalities and these strategies are considered effective means of knowledge formulation. However, created knowledge without actual application into practice results in overuse of unhelpful interventions. To avoid the unnecessary effects of ineffective knowledge translation, a multifactorial consideration is necessary to identify other factors that may influence the practices of nurses on HAI prevention and control because knowledge does not solely improve or worsen actual practices. Identified facilitating factors should be supported, and hindering factors should be addressed. Further recommendations based on the study results include strengthening existing programs and policies, and developing accessible materials to improve the present practices of nurses.
Infection Control

Background: With the increasing cancer burden in the country, nurses’ exposure to chemotherapy is inevitable as they belong to the workforce responsible for its preparation, administration, and disposal. These drugs are hazardous and necessitate special precautions to avoid direct exposure. Essentially, their competency must be aligned with the recommended safety guidelines to maintain quality patient outcomes while ensuring their safety. Objective: The primary aim was to determine the competency level of Oncology nurses in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitude. The results were used to develop a training program framework for competency enhancement. Methods: A descriptive correlational quantitative study was utilized. The study was conducted from December 2023 to February 2024 across three regions in Luzon, Philippines. The study included 203 Oncology nurses who fit the inclusion criteria. Data were collected via a four-part online questionnaire. Data were analyzed using frequency distribution, mean, standard deviation, and Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients. Results: Oncology nurses exhibited excellent knowledge (x̄ = 16.18) and skills (x̄ = 3.86) but only fair attitudes (x̄ = 2.92). Knowledge correlated negatively with skills (ρs = -0.45, p <0.001) and positively with attitude (ρs = 0.71, p <0.001), while skills negatively correlated with attitude (ρs = -0.70, p <0.001). Higher education levels strongly correlated with knowledge (χ2 = 213.28, p<0.001) and attitude (χ2 = 214.08, p <0.001) but not skills (χ2 = 25.48, p >0.001). Training in chemotherapy showed significant correlations with knowledge (χ2 = 241.77, p <0.001), skills (χ2 = 106.93, p <0.001), and attitude (χ2 = 276.51, p <0.001). The practice environment had strong positive correlations with all competency dimensions as knowledge (χ2 = 368.60, p <0.001), skills (χ2 = 2850.87, p <0.001), and attitude (χ2 = 1020.64, p <0.001). Conclusions Oncology nurses demonstrate comprehensive knowledge and accurate and efficient skills but maintain a neutral attitude toward handling chemotherapeutic drugs. These results relate to the complex interplay between the competency dimensions. There are still gaps and areas needing improvement that should be addressed and supported to align their competencies, especially along the skills and attitude dimensions. Training programs anchored on evidence-based practices and regulatory standards, and promoting a favorable practice environment are vital for their competency development.
Human ; chemotherapy ; drug therapy

Background: The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic significantly disrupted regular health care services, mainly in the hospitals. Nurses soldiering on the battlefront of care of disaster response in the Philippines during the disease outbreak are at high risk of developing rapid-onset compassion fatigue. Notably, research is still needed to investigate the impact of compassion fatigue on various clinical areas and further develop a theory of compassion fatigue within the nursing context. Objectives: The study explored the concept of compassion as experienced by nurses directly caring for COVID-19 patients. The study further explored the experiences of nurses on compassion fatigue. Methods: This study employed qualitative methodology, specifically the constructivist grounded theory. Results: Thirty-four participants were included in the study. The narratives and voices of the nurses unfolded the following themes: (1) Acts of Compassion, (2) COVID-19 Pandemic: Nursing Challenges and Detours, (3) Nurses’ Compassion Fatigue, (4) Narratives of Opportunities: Thriving at the outset of COVID-19. All four concepts are linked to the multidimensional concept of compassion fatigue. A substantive theory, “Remon’s CF Theory in Nursing," is proposed based on the grounded experiences of nurses caring for COVID-19 patients related to compassion fatigue. Conclusion: Compassion Fatigue (CF) is a psycho-social phenomenon and occupational hazard affecting nurses directly caring for or in contact with COVID-19 patients. CF is a process that develops over time brought by prolonged enactment of compassion, the experience of empathic distress, and concurrence of organizational, contextual, and psychosocial factors. Nurses' CF can potentially affect safety and lead to poor nursing care, compromised work relations, and burnout. Nurse leaders' organizational and leadership commitment and support through up-to-date policies and continuous research on the topic are necessary to regain compassion among nurses. Likewise, reframing nurse compassion fatigue as an organizational and collective problem provides the larger perspective to further improve clinical practice and nurses’ welfare. Recommendations Nurse leaders, hospital and COVID-19 facility administrators must ensure specific policies and priorities that address issues causing and fueling nurse compassion fatigue, including frequency of exposure to traumatic events, lack of resources, and inadequate support system. The study further suggests conducting quantitative research to test the proposed theory and explore the relationship between organizational, psychosocial, and environmental context, compassion fatigue, and compassion-driven factors.
Compassion Fatigue ; Nurses ; Grounded Theory

Background: The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic significantly disrupted regular health care services, mainly in the hospitals. Nurses soldiering on the battlefront of care of disaster response in the Philippines during the disease outbreak are at high risk of developing rapid-onset compassion fatigue. Notably, research is still needed to investigate the impact of compassion fatigue on various clinical areas and further develop a theory of compassion fatigue within the nursing context. Objectives: The study explored the concept of compassion as experienced by nurses directly caring for COVID-19 patients. The study further explored the experiences of nurses on compassion fatigue. Methods: This study employed qualitative methodology, specifically the constructivist grounded theory. Results: Thirty-four participants were included in the study. The narratives and voices of the nurses unfolded the following themes: (1) Acts of Compassion, (2) COVID-19 Pandemic: Nursing Challenges and Detours, (3) Nurses’ Compassion Fatigue, (4) Narratives of Opportunities: Thriving at the outset of COVID-19. All four concepts are linked to the multidimensional concept of compassion fatigue. A substantive theory, “Remon’s CF Theory in Nursing," is proposed based on the grounded experiences of nurses caring for COVID-19 patients related to compassion fatigue. Conclusion: Compassion Fatigue (CF) is a psycho-social phenomenon and occupational hazard affecting nurses directly caring for or in contact with COVID-19 patients. CF is a process that develops over time brought by prolonged enactment of compassion, the experience of empathic distress, and concurrence of organizational, contextual, and psychosocial factors. Nurses' CF can potentially affect safety and lead to poor nursing care, compromised work relations, and burnout. Nurse leaders' organizational and leadership commitment and support through up-to-date policies and continuous research on the topic are necessary to regain compassion among nurses. Likewise, reframing nurse compassion fatigue as an organizational and collective problem provides the larger perspective to further improve clinical practice and nurses’ welfare. Recommendations Nurse leaders, hospital and COVID-19 facility administrators must ensure specific policies and priorities that address issues causing and fueling nurse compassion fatigue, including frequency of exposure to traumatic events, lack of resources, and inadequate support system. The study further suggests conducting quantitative research to test the proposed theory and explore the relationship between organizational, psychosocial, and environmental context, compassion fatigue, and compassion-driven factors.
Compassion Fatigue ; Nurses ; Grounded Theory