Mental health nurses' empathy towards consumers with dual diagnosis: A descriptive study

Aim: This study aimed to assess mental health nurses' empathy towards consumers with dual diagnosis in Australian mental health settings. The research question was What is mental health nurses' empathy towards consumers with co-existing mental health and drug and alcohol problems? Design and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out to understand mental health nurses' empathy. The convenience sample included 96 mental health nurses from various mental health settings with experience working with consumers with dual diagnosis. We assessed empathy using the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire. We utilised SPSS (TM) software to analyse both the descriptive data and multiple-regression. Results: The mean empathy score was 47.71 (SD 8.28). The analysis of the association between demographic variables and individual subscales showed an association between the clinical setting and empathy (p = .031) and sympathetic physiological arousal (p = .049). The work sector was associated with sympathetic physiological arousal (p = .045) and conspecific altruism (p = .008). Emotional contagion (beta = .98, p < .001), emotional comprehension (beta = 1.02, p < .001), sympathetic physiological arousal (beta = 1.01, p < .001) and conspecific altruism (beta = 10.23, p < .001) predicted mental health nurses' empathy. Conclusions: This study found that most mental health nurses showed empathy towards consumers with dual diagnosis. Mental health nurses who are more empathetic towards their consumers experience emotional contagion. They understand emotions better, show sympathetic physiological responses and exhibit kind behaviour towards consumers.