Abstract: Objective: To investigate the current status of pain empathy among clinical anesthesia nurses and to analyze its influencing factors, in order to provide references for improving pain empathy ability in this population. Methods: From August to September 2023, a convenience sampling method was used to select anesthesia nurses from 32 hospitals across six regions of China, including North China, East China, and Central China. Data were collected using a general information questionnaire, the Empathy for Pain Scale, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX). Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the influencing factors. Results: A total of 529 clinical anesthesia nurses participated in the survey. The total score for pain empathy was 2.28±0.75. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that professional title, marital status, educational level, work position, personal history of pain, participation in pain empathy training, and task load were significant factors influencing the pain empathy ability of anesthesia nurses (all P<0.05). Conclusion: The pain empathy ability of anesthesia nurses is at a moderate level. Healthcare institutions should enhance pain empathy ability among anesthesia nurses through measures such as implementing systematic pain empathy training and optimizing human resource allocation to reduce task load, thereby improving the quality of perioperative pain management.

Key words: anesthesiology nurse; pain empathy; pain management; task load; nursing management