What factors influencing surgical nurses’ competence in implementing person-centered care in the perioperative period?: A cross-sectional study

Strengthening the capability of clinical surgical nurses to provide person-centered care (PCC) requires a thorough analysis of several related factors. This study used a descriptive cross-sectional design to investigate the factors that influence surgical nurses' perioperative competency in the performance of PCC in Anhui, China. A convenience sampling was implemented to administer a questionnaire survey to 437 nurses with more than 1 year of experience working in surgical wards. A web-based cross-sectional questionnaire evaluated the participant's general sociological information, empathy, job burnout, and nursing competence. The questionnaire were designed and published through the online platform Questionnaire Stars, and the link was distributed through the Internet and WeChat media by the nursing department of their hospital. Data were collected from June to September 2023 and processed by descriptive, correlation, and stepwise multiple regression analyses. Participants with high levels of empathy (β = 0.502, P < .001), low levels of job burnout (β = -0.288, P < .001), humanistic nursing training (β = 0.167, P < .001), and personnel agency (β = 0.083, P < .001) showed better PCC competence. The regression model analysis showed that 4 influencing factors explained 59.2% of the variance (F = 158.930, P < .001, adjusted R2 = 0.592). These findings suggest that steps should be taken to strengthen the key factors, such as improving empathy, minimizing job burnout, offering more humanities training, and enhancing personalities, to reinforce PCC competency.