Emotional intelligence stimulates nurses´ decent caring behavior in nursing practice in Bukittinggi City, Indonesia

Abstract

Introduction: Qualified nursing services can be manifested through the provision of nursing care based on nurses´ caring behavior. Therefore, a nurse’s caring behavior can affect patient satisfaction which can contribute to a nurse's attitudes, and the specific baseline is emotional intelligence. As one of the clinical indicators for nursing care quality, it is associated directly with patient’s satisfaction towards nurses´ caring behavior, because it is conceptualized and measurable. Objective: To identify the association of nurses’ emotional intelligence and their caring behavior throughout nursing practice hospitalization in Ambun Suri ward Dr. Achmad Mochtar Hospital, Bukittinggi, Indonesia. Methods: This is descriptive-analytic research with a cross-sectional approach involving 69 nurses. The instruments for this study were self-report questionnaires of professional caring behavior items. Data were categorized to specific criteria and measured with descriptive statistics. Results: The statistical analysis revealed 44.9% of nurses had a deficient caring attitude while high emotional intelligence reached out of 53.7% during nurses’ caring behavior. A significant emotional intelligence association with caring behavior was found (p=0.001). Conclusion: The study findings may be recommended to the hospital ward headship throughout the functions of direction and supervision strive for nurses´ emotional intelligence development, including of nurses’ touching and listening abilities, explaining and talking intonation, technical and expression amongst therapeutic processes, environmental management, and family involvement. Those should be improved from various nurses' emotional intelligence educational workshops and training for decent caring behavior enhancement.