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ECTP
Effectiveness of an Empathy and Communication Training Program on Nurse-Reported Therapeutic Engagement Among Psychiatric Nurse Specialists in Saudi Arabia: A Two-Site Quasi-Experimental Study With an Explanatory Sequential Mixed-Methods Design
Sponsor study identifier
interventional
154
1 country
2
Study Start
March 1, 2025
Actual (reported)Primary Completion
July 30, 2026
Actual (reported)Study Completion
July 30, 2026
Actual (reported)This study tests whether a five-day Empathy and Communication Training Program (ECTP) helps psychiatric nurse specialists in Saudi Arabia engage better with their patients. Good relationships between nurses and patients are central to mental health care, but structured training in empathy and communication is limited in Saudi psychiatric hospitals. The ECTP is a face-to-face program of five two-hour sessions (10 hours in total). It covers empathy and communication, the work environment, language and cultural barriers, and emotional preparedness. Sessions use short lectures, role-play, case discussions and group reflection. The study took place at two psychiatric hospitals. Nurses at the Eradah Complex for Mental Health in Dammam took the ECTP. Nurses at the Eradah Hospital for Mental Health in Madinah attended their usual hospital training sessions instead. Participants were not randomly assigned. The hospital they worked in decided which group they joined. Nurses at both hospitals completed a 15-item questionnaire about therapeutic engagement before and after the training period. After the program, 15 nurses from the Dammam group were interviewed about how the training affected their work and what barriers remained. The study aims to find out whether nurses' self-reported therapeutic engagement improves after the ECTP compared with usual training, and to understand nurses' own experiences of the program.
Registry-reported information. Elapsed time and enrollment totals alone do not measure study progress or recruitment pace.
July 30, 2026
Actual (reported)Click on a node to explore related trials.
Dates and qualifiers reported by the registry. Estimated dates do not confirm that a milestone has occurred.
March 1, 2025
Actual (reported)July 30, 2026
Actual (reported)July 30, 2026
Actual (reported)October 21, 2026
Actual (reported)October 28, 2026
Actual (reported)Change in overall nurse-reported patient therapeutic engagement (PTE) score
Overall score on the 15-item nurse-reported PTE questionnaire, adapted from the Therapeutic Engagement Questionnaire. Each item is rated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Items 5, 9 and 10 describe barriers and are reverse-scored (6 minus the original value). The overall score is the mean of all 15 items (range 1 to 5). Higher scores mean more favourable therapeutic engagement. The outcome is the change from baseline to post-test, compared between the intervention group (Dammam) and the control group (Madinah).
Baseline (Day 1) and immediately after Day 5 of the program (August 2026)
Change in Empathy and Communication domain score
Baseline (Day 1) and immediately after Day 5 of the program (August 2026).
Psychiatric nurse specialists at the Eradah Complex for Mental Health, Dammam, who took part in the five-day ECTP. They completed the therapeutic engagement questionnaire at baseline (Day 1) and immediately after Day 5. Fifteen of these nurses were interviewed afterwards.
Psychiatric nurse specialists at the Eradah Hospital for Mental Health, Madinah, who did not receive the ECTP and attended usual institutional training sessions of their choice (5-8 hours). They completed the same questionnaire at baseline and at an equivalent interval later.
Training sessions of the nurse's own choosing, offered as part of routine hospital education (for example on substance use, personality disorders or trauma-informed care), lasting 5-8 hours. Nurses submitted certificates of attendance.
Structured five-day, face-to-face training program, two hours per day (10 hours in total), delivered 2-6 August 2026 by nurse educators and psychiatric nurse trainers. Day 1: orientation and baseline assessment. Day 2: empathy and communication. Day 3: work environment and training. Day 4: language and cultural barriers. Day 5: emotional preparedness. Methods: short lectures, role-play, case-based discussion and reflective group activities.
Eradah Hospital for Mental Health
Madinah, Al Madinah Province, 42363, Saudi Arabia
Eradah Complex for Mental Health
Dammam, Eastern Province, 32253, Saudi Arabia
Hartley S, Raphael J, Lovell K, Berry K. Effective nurse-patient relationships in mental health care: A systematic review of interventions to improve the therapeutic alliance. Int J Nurs Stud. 2020 Feb;102:103490. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.103490. Epub 2019 Nov 23.
Chambers M, McAndrew S, Nolan F, Thomas B, Watts P, Grant R, Kantaris X. The Therapeutic Engagement Questionnaire (TEQ): a service user-focused mental health nursing outcome metric. BMC Psychiatry. 2019 Dec 3;19(1):384. doi: 10.1186/s12888-019-2326-x.
154 participants (actual enrollment reported by the registry).
First Submitted
October 21, 2026
First Posted
Change in Work Environment and Training domain score
Baseline (Day 1) and immediately after Day 5 of the program (August 2026).
Change in Language and Cultural Barriers domain score
Baseline (Day 1) and immediately after Day 5 of the program (August 2026).
Change in Emotional Preparedness domain score
Baseline (Day 1) and immediately after Day 5 of the program (August 2026).
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
October 28, 2026
Study Start
March 1, 2025
Actual (reported)Primary Completion
July 30, 2026
Actual (reported)Study Completion
July 30, 2026
Actual (reported)Last Updated
October 28, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-10
De-identified questionnaire data (anonymous participant codes, demographic variables and item-level responses) will be shared with qualified researchers on reasonable request to the corresponding author. Interview transcripts and audio recordings will not be shared, to protect participant confidentiality.
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Source: ClinicalTrials.gov.
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