Enhancing Empathy and Caring Behavior among Nursing Interns: An Interventional Study with Gender-Based Analysis

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effect of a structured educational intervention on empathy and caring behavior among nursing interns and to examine gender-based differences in these outcomes

Study Design: Two group quasi-experimental study
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the University of Lahore, from 1st February 2026 to 31st March 2026.

Methods: Forty six interns were enrolled. Data were gathered using a demographic questionnaire, the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ), and the Caring Dimension Inventory-25 (CDI-25).

Results: The median age of participants was 25 years (20–29) and the median GPA was 3.40 (2.90-3.80). Among males, empathy increased from 16.38 ±7.939 to 55.25±2.212 (p< 0.001), while among females it increased from 20.04±6.684 to 55.09±2.151 (p=0.034). Caring behavior increased from 48.65±5.605 to 87.87±5.137 among males (p=0.012) and from 48.04±5.287 to 88.00±5.551 among females (p=0.014). Females had significantly higher
baseline empathy than males (p=0.034); however, no significant gender differences were observed in post-test empathy (p=0.183) or caring behavior (p=0.190).

Conclusion: The structured educational intervention was associated with significant improvements in empathy and caring behavior among both male and female nursing interns. Although females demonstrated higher baseline empathy, post-intervention scores became comparable between genders, suggesting that structured educational strategies may effectively enhance empathy and caring competencies regardless of gender.