<![CDATA[Background: Caring behavior is the core foundation of professional nursing practice that determines the quality of patient-centered care. However, empirical evidence shows that the implementation of caring among nurses is still not optimal due to limited interpersonal skills, high workload, emotional fatigue, and inadequate communication competence. Therapeutic communication and empathy are essential competencies that can be improved through structured training programs to strengthen nurse–patient relationships and improve the quality of care. Purpose: To analyze the effectiveness of therapeutic communication and empathy training in improving nurses’ caring behavior based on recent empirical studies. Method: This study used a systematic literature review design. Article searches were conducted through Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases using keywords such as nurses, therapeutic communication training, empathy training, and nurse caring. Inclusion criteria included quantitative studies (quasi-experimental, experimental, and cross-sectional designs), published between 2020–2025, involving nurses as respondents, and available in full text. Study selection followed PRISMA guidelines. Eight eligible articles were analyzed using narrative synthesis and the PICO framework. Results: The findings from eight reviewed studies indicate that therapeutic communication and empathy training consistently improve nurses’ communication skills, empathy levels, and caring behavior. Interventions such as simulation-based training, patient-centered communication programs, empathy education modules, and virtual simulation methods showed statistically significant improvements (p < 0.05 to p < 0.001). Increased empathy was strongly associated with better therapeutic relationships and higher patient satisfaction. Overall, trained nurses demonstrated improved interpersonal interaction, reduced communication barriers, and enhanced patient-centered care outcomes Conclusion: Therapeutic communication and empathy training are effective interventions in improving nurses’ caring behavior. These programs significantly enhance communication competence, empathy, and nurse–patient relationship quality. Therefore, their implementation is recommended as an evidence-based strategy to strengthen nursing professionalism and improve healthcare service quality. Sugesstion: Future research should incorporate a larger number of articles with broader database coverage and employ more specific selection criteria to yield stronger evidence regarding the effectiveness of therapeutic communication and empathy training on nurses' caring behavior. Additionally, research evaluating the long-term impact of such training is needed to determine the sustainability of improvements in caring behavior within nursing practice. Keywords: Caring Behavior; Empathy; Nurse; Therapeutic Communication; Training Intervention.]]>
Copyrights © 2026
