Compassionate nursing in challenging contexts: The importance of judgments

Abstract

Background: Nurses’ demonstration of compassion is an ethical and often regulatory expectation. While research has been conducted to examine the barriers and facilitators of compassion in nurses, little is known about how nurses develop and express compassion for patients who may be blamed for their health condition. Unvaccinated COVID-19 patients are an example of such patients.

Research questions: How do nurses provide compassionate care for unvaccinated adults infected with COVID-19? How did the context of COVID-19 vaccination in Canada shape nurses’ relationships with unvaccinated patients?