ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Healthcare Professions Education
Effect of Structured Community-Based Older People Education Program on Empathy, Emotional Intelligence, and Caring Behaviour Among Nursing Students
Provisionally accepted
- 1Universiti Malaya Faculty of Medicine, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- 2Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China
- 3Henan Vocational College of Tuina, Luoyang, China
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China's rapidly ageing population necessitates nursing students equipped with humanistic competencies—empathy, emotional intelligence (EI), and caring behaviour—to address older adults' complex needs. Current curricula, however, prioritize technical skills over these competencies. This quasi-experimental study evaluated the 4-week Structured Community-based Older People Education (SCOPE) program's effectiveness compared to standard education. Among 190 third-year nursing students (intervention: n=96; control: n=94), SCOPE integrated ageing simulations, skill labs, standardized patient scenarios, and mentored community placements. Outcomes were measured using validated scales (CCSEQ, EIS, CAI) at baseline (T0), post-intervention (T1), and 8-week follow-up (T2), analysed via Generalized Estimating Equations. The SCOPE group demonstrated significant improvements in total empathy (from T0=81.25± 0.85 to T2=94.90 ± 1.24), EI (from T0=122.39 ± 1.10 to T2=142.63 ± 1.31), and caring behaviour (from T0=177.72 ± 1.60 to T2=204.77 ± 2.12), surpassing controls at T1/T2 (p<0.001). Subdimensions (e.g., cognitive empathy, emotional perception) showed sustained gains, while control group improvements were minimal. SCOPE significantly enhanced nursing students' humanistic competencies with immediate and retained benefits, suggesting the value of integrating structured experiential learning into nursing curricula.
Keywords: community-based education, nursing students, Empathy, Emotional Intelligence, Caring behaviour
Received: 26 Jun 2025; Accepted: 10 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ma, Chui, Chong, Yuan, Zhu, Liu and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: PingLei Chui, chuipinglei@um.edu.my
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