The Perception of Self-Efficacy in Caring Among Home Care Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction. Caring, the essence of nursing, is based on building an authentic relationship between nurses, patients and families (1). In home care, empathy and caring act as gatekeepers to more technical phases (2). This study aims to describe home care nurses' perception of self-efficacy in caring and assess if sociodemographic variables affect it.

Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among home care nurses in Northern Italy. Participants completed the Italian version of the Caring Efficacy Scale (CES), which includes two domains: Confidence in Caring (CC; range 7–42) and Doubt and Concerns (DC; range 10–60). Sociodemographic variables included age, sex, type of work in the home care setting, years of experience, education, previous work settings, parenting, and caregiving status.

Results. 48 nurses were recruited (response rate=50%). Mean CC score was 35.6 (SD=3.6); mean DC score was 21.8 (SD=6.9). Bivariate analyses showed a significant association between CC and years of experience and a borderline association with parental status. Linear regression confirmed a positive correlation between CC and years of experience, and a negative one with the telenursing subgroup of the "type of work in the home care setting" variable. The DC domain appears unrelated to the assessed variables.

Discussion. Despite the small sample size, results suggest high confidence and low doubt in caring. The DC domain may be a complex construct linked to psychological and organisational factors.