Gender, Self-Esteem and Empathy Levels Among Nursing Students at the National Institute for the Training of Health Workers (Infas) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Empathy is widely recognised as a pivotal factor in enhancing the quality of patient care. This enhancement is shaped by multiple determinants, with clinical empathy playing a particularly decisive role. The present study seeks to examine the relationship between gender, self-esteem, and empathy levels among final-year nursing students at the National Institute for the Training of Health Workers (INFAS) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. A total of 134 nursing students (67 male and 67 female), aged between 22 and 36 years, were selected. Data collection involved a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy for Students (JSPE-St). Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a subsample of participants. The findings reveal that both gender and self-esteem significantly correlate with empathy levels. Female nursing students exhibited higher levels of empathy compared to their male counterparts. Moreover, regardless of gender, students with high self-esteem demonstrated greater empathic capacity than those with low self-esteem. These findings underscore the need to integrate psychosocial dimensions such as empathy and self-perception into healthcare training programmes to foster humanised and effective patient care.