Compassionate Care: Can it be Defined and Measured? - Compassionate Care Assessment Tool (CCAT)

Sep 30, 2026

Background: Compassion is not universally defined, yet recognized as a core element of nursing excellence. When compassionate care is part of routine care delivery, patients should be able to readily identify nursing behaviors that demonstrate compassion. However, a standardized measurement scale for compassionate care attributes has been lacking. Objective and methodology: The Compassionate Care Assessment Tool (CCAT)© was developed and administered to 250 hospitalized patients.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Objective

Methodology

Results

Conclusions

Introduction and Background

Compassion definitions and standards

Literature and nursing ethics

Research Hypothesis

Objective - Pilot Study

Methodology - Pilot Study

Instruments and sample

International Journal of Caring Sciences 2013 May – August Vol 6 Issue 2 180 . O R I G I N A L P A P E R . Compassionate Care: Can it be Defined and Measured? The Development of the Compassionate Care Assessment Tool Lori Burnell, PhD(c), RN, NEA-BC Vice President, Chief Nursing Executive & Chief Operating Officer, Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego, CA, USA Donna L. Agan, EdD Director, Operations Integration, Scripps Mercy Hospital, San Diego, CA, USA Correspondence: Lori Burnell, Scripps Mercy Hospital, 4077 Fifth Avenue, MER-1, San Diego, CA 92103, (office) 619-260-7377,(fax) 619-686-3530 E-mail: [burnell.lori@scrippshealth.org](burnell.lori@scrippshealth.org) Abstract Background: Compassion has not been universally defined or understood, nonetheless is recognized as a component of nursing excellence. If compassionate care is routine in health care delivery models, nursing behaviorsand actions that exemplify compassion ought to be easily identifiable to patients. However, a standardized scale measuring compassionate care attributes has been notably absent. Objective: To address this gap and ascertain the importance of compassionate care to patients, a Compassionate Care Assessment Tool (CCAT)© was formulated. This new tool, derived from a pilot study of two published surveys, combined the constructs of compassion and caring to generate 28 elements of compassionate care. Methodology: The CCAT© was administered to 250 hospitalized patients. Patients were asked to rate (a) the importance of these items to compassionate care and (b) the extent to which nurses made this type of care apparent to them. Results: Four categorical segments illustrated compassion from the patients’ perspective: the ability to establish meaningful connections, meet expectations, exhibit caring attributes, and function as a capable practitioner. Conclusions: The provision of compassionate care requires a holistic approach. Patients value nurses forming personal connections, serving as their advocates, and responding to their individual needs. Key words: Compassionate care, spirituality, patient satisfaction, patient centered care, health care surveys, communication, nurse-patient relations Introduction and Background Compassionate care, according to Roach (2007), requires immersion into the pain, brokenness, fear, and anguish of another, even when that person is a stranger. Professional standards call for nurses to practice with compassion (e.g., American Nurses Association [ANA] Code of Ethics, International Council of Nurses), and innumerable hospital mission and vision statements include compassion as an essential purpose and directive (American Nurses Association, 2001; International Council of Nurses, 2006, Milton, 2003) . Discussion of compassion as a means of establishing a [www.internationaljournalofcaringsciences.org](www.internationaljournalofcaringsciences.org) connection with a patient abounds in the literature (Buck, 2006; Grant, 2004; O’Brien, 2008; Schultz et al., 2007) . Furthermore, discourse on compassion asserts it is critical to establishing meaningful nurse-patient relationships (Davis, 2006; Roach, 2007; Wallis, 2005) . Provision 1 in the ANA (2001) Code of Ethics expresses nursing’s commitment to patients and the community, stating “The nurse, in all professional relationships, practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, International Journal of Caring Sciences 2013 May – August Vol 6 Issue 2 181 personal attributes, or the nature of health problems”(p. 7) . Compassion has been defined as “a sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress with a desire to alleviate it” (Merriam-Webster, 2010) . Furthermore, WordNet (2010) defined caring, an adjective related to compassion, as “feeling and exhibiting concern and empathy for others”. Major world religions have declared compas

FAQs

What problem does the paper address regarding compassionate care?

It addresses the lack of a standardized scale to define and measure compassionate care attributes in nursing practice.

How was the Compassionate Care Assessment Tool (CCAT) developed?

The CCAT© was formulated to combine constructs of compassion and caring, generating 28 elements, based on a pilot study using two published surveys.

What patient-centered categories of compassionate care were identified in the results?

Four categories were identified: the ability to establish meaningful connections, meet expectations, exhibit caring attributes, and function as a capable practitioner.

Sep 30, 2026

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