The association between resilience and compassionate care in nursing: insights from structural equation modeling

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the association between nurses’ resilience and their capacity to provide compassionate care in the healthcare context. This cross-sectional study recruited 478 nurses via convenience sampling from 16 public hospitals in northern Iran. Participants completed the Compassionate Care Questionnaire (CCQ) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), with data analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). All analyses accounted for the clustering of nurses within hospitals. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the compassionate care (χ² = 692.12, df = 344, CFI = 0.941, TLI = 0.935, RMSEA = 0.046, SRMR = 0.042) and resilience measurement models (χ² = 670.17, df = 265, CFI = 0.924, TLI = 0.914, RMSEA = 0.057, SRMR = 0.043). The path coefficient linking resilience to compassionate care was significant and moderate in magnitude (β = 0.52, 95% CI [0.43, 0.62]). The structural model showed acceptable fit (χ² = 2941.32, df = 1723, CFI = 0.906, TLI = 0.901, RMSEA = 0.039, 90% CI [0.036, 0.041], SRMR = 0.050). These findings suggest that resilience is positively associated with compassionate care among nurses. Longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to clarify directionality and determine whether resilience-focused interventions can enhance compassionate care.