A mixed-methods study of a “Humanities in Course” model: improving caring abilities, climate, and satisfaction in pediatric nursing education

Abstract Background Pediatric nursing requires exceptional humanistic care. However, humanistic education is often delivered separately from professional nursing courses, creating a gap between caring principles and clinical practice. Aim This mixed-methods study evaluated the effectiveness of the “Humanities in Course” model in enhancing nursing students’ humanistic caring abilities and improving the caring climate in pediatric nursing education. Methods A concurrent mixed-methods approach was adopted. Using a non-probability whole-population sampling method, all third-year undergraduate nursing students enrolled in the Pediatric Nursing course during the 2023 academic year were invited to participate. Seventy-five students who completed the course and provided both pre- and post-course data were included in the final analysis. Quantitative data were collected before and after the course using the Caring Ability Inventory, Peer Group Caring Interaction Scale, and Organizational Climate for Caring Questionnaire, and were analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired-sample t-tests. Students’ perceptions of the course were evaluated after the intervention using a self-developed Teaching Effectiveness Evaluation Questionnaire. Qualitative data were collected from students’ narrative diaries written after the RealCare Baby ® 3 experiential learning activity and analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step method with NVivo 12. Results Students’ total caring ability scores increased significantly from 188.11 ± 18.69 before the course to 203.57 ± 16.26 after the course ( p < 0.001). Significant improvements were also observed in the total scores of the Peer Group Caring Interaction Scale and the Organizational Climate for Caring Questionnaire after the intervention. The teaching effectiveness evaluation showed that most students perceived the course positively, with 94.7% reporting curricular attractiveness, 96.0% reporting improved analytical problem-solving ability, and 98.7% reporting enhanced patience when interacting with patients. Qualitative analysis of narrative diaries identified five themes: gratitude to parents, professional quality development, bioethics, operational learning, and course experience. Conclusion The “Humanities in Course” model may be a feasible approach for embedding humanistic education into pediatric nursing education. It was associated with improvements in students’ overall humanistic caring ability, peer caring interaction, and perceived caring climate, while qualitative findings indicated perceived development in professional quality, bioethical awareness, operational learning, and reflective understanding of pediatric caring. Future controlled, multi-center, and longitudinal studies with objective and multi-source outcome measures are needed to confirm the effectiveness, sustainability, and transferability of this model.