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# Relationship Between Perspective-Taking, Boundary-Crossing Experiences, and Collaborative Practice in Discharge Planning Among Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study

## Details

**Authors** Shingo Tanaka, Masatoshi Saiki, Yukie Takemura

**Year** 2026

**Publisher** Japan Journal of Nursing Science

**Kind of work** article

**Discipline** Medicine

**Secondary disciplines** Psychology

**Applied** false

[Read it at the publisher](https://doi.org/10.1111/jjns.70075) 
10.1111/jjns.70075

## In authors' words

### Abstract

Aim: Effective discharge planning requires ward nurses to understand the circumstances of receiving facilities. Perspective-taking—the active cognitive process of imagining another party's situation—may play a central role in promoting interfacility collaboration. This study examined a theoretical process model that positions perspective-taking, nurses' boundary-crossing experiences, and their collaborative practice in discharge planning. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with acute care nurses in Japan in 2021. Perspective-taking and collaborative practice in discharge planning were measured using validated scales. Boundary-crossing experiences, encompassing other-facility experience and interaction opportunities with external professionals, were assessed using newly developed measures. Structural equation modeling was employed to evaluate the fit of the proposed theoretical model. Results: Data from 416 respondents were analyzed. Perspective-taking was significantly associated with collaborative practice in discharge planning (p < 0.05). Both other-facility experience and interaction opportunities were significantly associated with perspective-taking (p < 0.05). The theoretical process model met the criteria for good fit (comparative fit index = 0.93; root mean square error of approximation = 0.07; standardized root mean square residual = 0.05). Conclusions: The results indicate that ward nurses' boundary-crossing experiences are positively associated with perspective-taking, and perspective-taking supports collaborative practice in discharge planning. Providing nurses with diverse facility experiences and external interactions could promote interfacility collaboration.

### What they set out to do (purpose)

To test a process model linking nurses' boundary-crossing experiences, perspective-taking, and collaborative practice in discharge planning.

### Who or what was studied (sample)

416 acute care nurses in Japan

### How they did it (methods)

Cross-sectional online survey in 2021 using validated scales and newly developed boundary-crossing measures, analyzed with structural equation modeling.

### What they found (results)

Both other-facility experience and interaction opportunities were positively associated with perspective-taking, which in turn was associated with collaborative practice in discharge planning, and the model fit well (CFI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.07, SRMR = 0.05).

## Commentary

### In short

Taking the vantage point of a receiving facility mediates between crossing institutional boundaries and coordinated action across the relationship between two care settings.

**Patterns it shows** R, P

**Added** 2026-09-29

**How to cite this** Shingo Tanaka, Masatoshi Saiki, Yukie Takemura (2026). Relationship Between Perspective-Taking, Boundary-Crossing Experiences, and Collaborative Practice in Discharge Planning Among Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study. Japan Journal of Nursing Science.