Abstract
BackgroundThe Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy is the most widely used instrument to measure empathy in the doctor-patient relationship. This work pursued cultural adaptation and validation of the original scale, in its health professions version (JSE-HP), for medical students who participate in an Early Clerkship Immersion Programme of a Spanish university.MethodsThe questionnaire was replied by 506 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th year medical students from Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Madrid, in 2014 and 2016. Internal consistency was analysed by means of Cronbach’s alpha, and reliability by means of test-retest using the intraclass correlation coefficient and the Bland-Altman method. The construct validity was checked by means of confirmatory factor analysis and association with other empathy-related variables. Criterion validity was compared using Davis’ Interpersonal Reactivity Index.ResultsCronbach’s alpha was 0.82 (range 0.80–0.85). Item-total score correlations were positive and significant (median 0.45, p < 0.01). The test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.68 (0.42–0.82). The factor analysis confirmed the three original factors: “perspective taking”, “compassionate care” and “standing in the patient’s shoes”. Women and students who preferred specialities focused on persons obtained the best scores. The JSE-HP scores were positively correlated with Interpersonal Reactivity Index, personality traits were associated with empathy, clinical interview skills and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations.ConclusionThe results support the validity and reliability of JSE-HP applied to Spanish medical students.
Highlights
The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy is the most widely used instrument to measure empathy in the doctor-patient relationship
The mean score obtained by our students in the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSE)-HP was 120.71 points and the standard deviation was 11.48
The data provided in this work support the validity and reliability of our version of JSE-HP, which is a translated and culturally adapted version to be presented to Spanish medical students
Summary
The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy is the most widely used instrument to measure empathy in the doctor-patient relationship. This work pursued cultural adaptation and validation of the original scale, in its health professions version (JSE-HP), for medical students who participate in an Early Clerkship Immersion Programme of a Spanish university. Blanco et al BMC Medical Education (2018) 18:209 students: the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy [15] in its version for students (JSE-S). It was adapted to be applicable to health professions [16] (JSE-HP) and health provider students (JSE-HPS). The version for health professions (JSE-HP) is written in the first person and values the self-perceived empathic behaviour of the physician during appointments with patients. The correlations between the scores of the two versions were 0.85 (p < 0.01) with no differences in Cronbach’s alpha or significant changes in the ratings of the scale
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