Communication Self-efficacy and Emotional Intelligence among Staff Nurses

Abstract

Background: Effective communication is crucial for nurses in delivering competent and compassionate care to patients, as it significantly influences the identification and resolution of their needs. Communication self-efficacy pertains to an individual's confidence in their ability to communicate effectively in different situations. Thus, fostering communication self-efficacy is vital, given that inadequate communication skills can lead to risks and jeopardize patient safety. Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to a person's ability to accurately perceive, evaluate, and express emotions. It is recognized as a key factor in enhancing nurses' ability to manage stress and build therapeutic relationships. Therefore, the investigator was interested in assessing the relationship between communication self-efficacy and Emotional intelligence among staff nurses. Aim: This study was conducted with the aim to assess the communication self-efficacy and emotional intelligence among staff nurses and their association with their selected demographic variables. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed for this study. The researcher utilized a stratified simple random sampling technique to select 60 staff nurses. Data were collected using a self-reported questionnaire. The communication self-efficacy of the staff nurses was evaluated with the Self-efficacy (SE-12) Questionnaire, while their emotional intelligence was measured using the Brief Emotional Intelligence Scale. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. The correlation between emotional intelligence and communication self-efficacy was assessed using the Pearson correlation coefficient, with a p-value of ≤0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: The study found that 95% of participants were female and 5% were male. Communication self-efficacy scores varied, with 56.7% of staff nurses demonstrating high self-efficacy and 43.3% showing low self-efficacy. In terms of emotional intelligence (EI), 55% exhibited average EI, while 18.3% scored below average, 13.3% above average, and 6.7% scored high or low. A positive correlation was noted between communication self-efficacy and EI (r = 0.130, p < 0.01), but regression analysis found no significant relationship between them or with socio-demographic variables. Conclusion: This study clearly shows that more than half of the participants exhibited high communication self-efficacy, while the majority demonstrated average emotional intelligence. Notably, there is a strong positive correlation between communication self-efficacy and emotional intelligence, indicating that higher emotional intelligence significantly enhances communication self-efficacy. This finding highlights the crucial need for staff nurses to actively develop these essential competencies.