Effect of Emotional Intelligence on the Quality of Nursing Care from the Perspectives of Patients in Educational Hospitals

Nurses often work in stressful environments and it is widely accepted that emotions can exert profound effects on the quality of care in hospital settings. Therefore, the impact of emotional intelligence on the performance of nurses has been the focus of numerous studies. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between emotional intelligence and quality of nursing care from the perspectives of patients in hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of medical sciences. The current descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study was conducted on nurses and patients in four selected hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of medical sciences in 2016. Sample size was based on sample size formula in nurses with limited population and patients with unlimited population with 95% confidence level. Finally, a total number of 300 nurses and 270 patients were selected. Data collection tools included standardized Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire and Parasuraman Questionnaire (hospital quality assessment). The best score of nurses’ emotional intelligence was reported in the social self- awareness domain (3.9), while the lowest score was detected in self- motivation domain (3.02). In general, it can be concluded that emotional intelligence in nurses was higher than average with 3.2. The results of the present study indicated that there was no significant relationship between emotional intelligence and the quality of nursing care in selected hospitals. As evidenced by the obtained results, there is a significant relationship between some aspects of the quality of hospital services (e.g., sympathy, assurance, and tangible) and emotional intelligence. Nonetheless, a significant relationship was not confirmed between nurses’ emotional intelligence and the quality of hospital services.