Assessing the Communication Skills, Self-efficacy, and Mindfulness in Nurses Working in Children's Healthcare Units: A Cross-sectional Approach.

Introduction: Effective communication, self-efficacy, and mindfulness are critical for nurses working in children's healthcare units. These competencies impact patient care quality and the nurses' professional confidence and well-being. The aim of the study was to assess communication skills, self-efficacy, and mindfulness levels among nurses and explore their interrelationships and associated factors.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 84 nurses. Data were collected using a nonprobability convenience sampling technique. Communication Skills Assessment Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale MAAS were administered. Statistical analysis was performed by employing the statistical package, SPSS version 20.

Results: Marginal communication skills were observed in 85.7% of nurses, with the domain "understands the perspective and shows empathy" achieving the highest mean score (68.5%). The mean self-efficacy and mindfulness scores were 32.18 ± 4.37 and 66.15 ± 10.48, respectively. Moderate positive correlations were found between communication skills and self-efficacy (r = +0.407) and between mindfulness and self-efficacy (r = +0.65). Significant associations were observed between communication skills and area of placement (P = 0.03), self-efficacy and marital status (P = 0.005), and mindfulness and the number of children (P = 0.03).

Conclusion: Nurses in children's healthcare units demonstrated marginal communication skills, with self-efficacy and mindfulness showing positive associations. Interventions including targeted training in communication and mindfulness are needed to enhance these competencies. These improvements can ultimately benefit patient care outcomes and nurse well-being.