Empathy In Patient Care Research Articles

Validity and reliability study in undergraduate healthcare students towards the solution of a neglected problem in working life: Attitude scale towards patients with chronic pain.

Chronic pain is the type of pain that healthcare professionals frequently encounter. Health care students' attitudes towards pain management are not sufficient and this negatively affects their chronic pain management. When students cannot manage the chronic pain they will experience professional burnout, depersonalization, and a decrease in compassion and empathy in patient care. Therefore, the first step in improving health care students' attitudes towards patients with chronic pain is to determine their attitudes. This study aims to test the validity and reliability of the Scale for Healthcare Professionals' Attitudes towards Patients with Chronic Pain (HCPAPCP Scale) in healthcare students. This quantitative study was conducted with 205 health care students in January-February 2022. Data were collected online with Personal Information Form and the HCPAPCP Scale. To determine the reliability of the scale, internal consistency and test-retest, and for construct validity, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed. The results of the exploratory factor analysis showed that the two-factor scale consisting of 18 items, the factor structure, and the distribution of factors in items were the same as the findings of the original scale. The Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was 0.88 for the first factor and 0.74 for the second factor. Test-retest reliability was 0.60. In confirmatory factor analysis, the model had a good and acceptable fit. We found that the HCPAPCP Scale was valid and reliable in healthcare students.

The Empathy Quandary in Postgraduate Medical Training

Background: Empathy stands as a cornerstone of humanistic qualities and is essential in healthcare for understanding and alleviating emotional suffering. Despite its necessity, formal empathy training remains elusive in postgraduate medical education across the globe, contributing to decline of humanistic practice among trainees. This study aims to assess and establish the need for empathy training by evaluating the perspectives of postgraduate trainees and faculty. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in a medical college of western India in 2023. Three online validated questionnaires were used to assess empathy-related perceptions among faculty and postgraduate trainees across various specialties. The questionnaires focused on demographic data, importance of empathy in patient care, empathy training, perceived levels of empathy, reasons for shortfalls in empathetic behavior and recommendations for nurturing empathy. Data were analyzed quantitatively and thematically. Results: A total of 150 and 127 responses were gathered and analyzed from faculty and trainees, respectively. Excessive workload, lack of formal training, and technology-dependent fast paced lifestyle were attributed for lack of empathy in clinical care. All the faculty agreed that empathy training is essential and majority (67%) believed that lack of empathetic behavior led to dissatisfaction among patients and caregivers. Conclusion: Empathetic communication and behaviors are fundamental competencies for health-care professionals. There is need for a structured training for empathy in postgraduate medical curriculum.

Translation and Validation of the Korean Version of the Global Interprofessional Therapeutic Communication Scale: A Study of the Psychometric Properties among Korean Nurses

Purpose: This study aimed to validate the Korean version of the Global Interprofessional Therapeutic Communication Scale (K-GITCS), with the ultimate goal of improving therapeutic communication and patient engagement among Korean nurses.Methods: The study rigorously adhered to the original authors’ translation guidelines. A sample of 300 registered nurses from a tertiary hospital in South Korea participated in this research. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to verify the tool’s validity, and Cronbach’s ⍺ coefficients were calculated to evaluate the internal consistency of the K-GITCS.Results: The instrument’s reliability was substantiated by an adequate comparative fit index (0.984) and a high Cronbach’s ⍺ coefficient (0.94). The empirical results supported the three-factor structure of the K-GITCS, which comprised trust and rapport building, power sharing, and empathy.Conclusion: The study confirms that the K-GITCS is a valid, reliable, and culturally sensitive instrument for assessing therapeutic communication skills among nurses in Korea. It also highlights the importance of culturally tailored therapeutic communication training, particularly for promoting empathy in patient care. The study emphasizes the potential of the K-GITCS to significantly enhance nurses’ therapeutic communication practices, thereby improving the quality and safety of patient care. It is recommended to apply this tool among nursing students, academic institutions, and interprofessional healthcare providers to facilitate structured educational interventions that will improve therapeutic communication.

Ethical Implications of Artificial Intelligence in the Global Healthcare Sector: Trends, Perspectives and Future Developments

This research paper examines the ethical implications of AI in healthcare, covering the benefits and risks of using AI in healthcare services and provision. The paper highlights the applications of AI in healthcare, which can improve efficiency and accuracy of providing healthcare services by health professionals. The benefits of AI cover reducing the need for human intervention and increasing productivity through automation, delivering personalised experiences by recommendations, assisting with informed decision-making by providing real-time data analysis and insights, predicting outcomes or identifying potential threats, improving healthcare and overall customer satisfaction. The paper highlights the ethical implications of the use of AI in healthcare, including privacy and security, bias and discrimination, transparency and explainability, responsibility and accountability, informed consent and human interaction and empathy. The paper recommends that as AI becomes more prevalent in healthcare, establishing clear guidelines for responsible use, and maintaining the importance of human interaction and empathy in patient care, enhances healthcare outcomes while safeguarding patient rights and welfare. Continued research and development of the ethical implications of AI in healthcare for low-income countries as further work can promote the ethical use of AI in healthcare worldwide. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Ethical Implication, Healthcare, Privacy Journal Reference Format: Adeyemi, Deborah A., Amedior, Nutifafa Cudjoe, Longe Bankole-Philips, Akintunwa Fred, 5Omotosho Seyi & Longe, Olumide B. (2023): Ethical Implications of Artificial Intelligence in the Global Healthcare Sector: Trends, Perspectives and Future Developments. Social Informatics, Business, Politics, L:aw, Environmental Sciences & Technology Journal. Vol. 9, No. 3. Pp 41-53 www.isteams/socialinformaticsjournal. dx.doi.org/10.22624/AIMS/SIJ/V9N3P3

Empathy in Patient Care among Undergraduate Nursing Students

Introduction: Empathy is a quality that is more cognitive than affective or emotional. It involves the cognitive ability to understand the patient’s perspective, amount of suffering, and ability to communicate this understanding and a desire to assist in the patient’s treatment. Hence, the study was conducted to assess the empathy in patient care among undergraduate nursing students of selected nursing colleges of Pokhara. Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken using the paper-based version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy. A purposive sampling technique was used for selecting colleges. Seventy-nine students participated in the research study. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used to generate descriptive statistics, t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were used to assess differences in empathy mean scores according to Demographic and previous work-related variables. Results: A total of 79 students participated in this study. Overall, respondents reported a good empathy score (i.e. mean±SD 111.076±13.29) as measured by the JSE-HPS The difference in empathy mean scores according to demographic and previous work-related variables i.e. age group (P= 0.373), academic year of study (P= 0.37), relationship status (P= 0.059), religion (P= 0.241), ethnicity (P= 0.486) and years of experience (P= 0.691) were not statistically significant. Conclusion: The undergraduate nursing students’ level of empathy tends to be satisfactory. The study also concludes that none of the demographic and previous work-related variables tends to influence the empathy among undergraduate nursing students.

AI in Healthcare: The New Frontier of Inequality

The emergence of artificial intelligence in healthcare is probably leading to another two-speed world. On one hand, widely accessible AI applications such as language models are becoming ubiquitous, while on the other, resource-intensive technologies like robotic surgery and personalized medicine will be reserved for a privileged few. This development signifies a growing disparity in access to AI advancements. In this context, the role of empathy and emotional aspects in patient care comes to the forefront. With the rise of AI, there's a critical examination of whether synthetic empathy can adequately replace human empathy in patient care, emphasizing the necessity of maintaining human elements in an increasingly automated healthcare environment.

Empathy: Vital in patient care but are we looking at it close enough?

Abstract Empathy is imperative in patient care. Besides enhancing patients’ satisfaction, comfort, and trust, which may facilitate better diagnosis, shared decision-making, and therapy adherence, empathetic doctors experience less burnout, greater job satisfaction, and better overall psychological well-being. In this article, we focus on empathy needed in modern medicine. The meaning of empathy is briefly explained, along with the concept of detached concern. The need for empathy in patient care is undebatable, but physician burnout, emotional drainage, and overburden are reasons physicians tend to drift away from it. Empathy is the need to communicate with the patient in productive ways. Educators should organize the teaching relevantly and engage the active participation of the students. Skilled physicians and empathic communicators are the need of the hour.

Ethical Implications of Artificial Intelligence in the Healthcare Sector

This research paper examines the ethical implications of AI in healthcare, covering the benefits and risks of using AI in healthcare services and provision. The paper highlights the applications of AI in healthcare, which can improve efficiency and accuracy of providing healthcare services by health professionals. The benefits of AI cover reducing the need for human intervention and increasing productivity through automation, delivering personalised experiences by recommendations, assisting with informed decision-making by providing real-time data analysis and insights, predicting outcomes or identifying potential threats, improving healthcare and overall customer satisfaction. The paper highlights the ethical implications of the use of AI in healthcare, including privacy and security, bias and discrimination, transparency and explainability, responsibility and accountability, informed consent and human interaction and empathy. The paper recommends that as AI becomes more prevalent in healthcare, establishing clear guidelines for responsible use, and maintaining the importance of human interaction and empathy in patient care, enhances healthcare outcomes while safeguarding patient rights and welfare. Continued research and development of the ethical implications of AI in healthcare for low-income countries as further work can promote the ethical use of AI in healthcare worldwide. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Ethical Implication, Healthcare, Privacy

Ethical Implications of Artificial Intelligence in the Healthcare Sector

This research paper examines the ethical implications of AI in healthcare, covering the benefits and risks of using AI in healthcare services and provision. The paper highlights the applications of AI in healthcare, which can improve efficiency and accuracy of providing healthcare services by health professionals. The benefits of AI cover reducing the need for human intervention and increasing productivity through automation, delivering personalised experiences by recommendations, assisting with informed decision-making by providing real-time data analysis and insights, predicting outcomes or identifying potential threats, improving healthcare and overall customer satisfaction. The paper highlights the ethical implications of the use of AI in healthcare, including privacy and security, bias and discrimination, transparency and explainability, responsibility and accountability, informed consent and human interaction and empathy. The paper recommends that as AI becomes more prevalent in healthcare, establishing clear guidelines for responsible use, and maintaining the importance of human interaction and empathy in patient care, enhances healthcare outcomes while safeguarding patient rights and welfare. Continued research and development of the ethical implications of AI in healthcare for low-income countries as further work can promote the ethical use of AI in healthcare worldwide. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Ethical Implication, Healthcare, Privacy Proceedings Citation Format Amedior, N.C. Nutifafa Cudjoe Amedior (2022): Ethical Implications of Artificial Intelligence in the Healthcare Sector. Proceedings of the 36th iSTEAMS Accra Bespoke Multidisciplinary Innovations Conference. University of Ghana/Academic City University College, Accra, Ghana. 31st May – 2nd June, 2023. Pp 1-12 www.isteams.net/ecowasetech2022. dx.doi.org/10.22624/AIMS-/ACCRABESPOKE2023P1

Physician empathy in Korean clinical contexts: developing a conceptual framework and exploring influencing factors.

Despite its well-known clinical importance, physician empathy (PE) has been variably defined and its concepts among cultures are yet to be studied. This study aimed to develop a conceptual framework of PE and explore influencing factors on physicians' empathetic behavior in the Korean clinical context. Forty-two faculty members and 67 residents participated in the two-round Delphi survey to arrive at a consensus regarding the conceptual framework of PE in 2019. To explore individual and external factors affecting physicians' empathetic behavior, a Likert scale questionnaire based on an initial free-text response was administered to the same participants. The conceptual framework of PE among Korean doctors consisted of basic communication skills and attitudes, cognitively understanding of patients' thoughts and emotions, and communicating the doctors' understandings to patients. Individual attributes and system- and patient-factors were revealed as influencing factors for PE in real practice. The former included communication ability, self-awareness and management, humanism, clinical competence, and good personality traits. Excessive workload, time constraints, aggressive attitudes, and negative preconceptions towards doctors were perceived as inhibiting or hindering empathy in patient care. PE in the Korean clinical context comprised behavioral and cognitive components. Individual attributes, as well as external factors including system- and patient-factors were identified to affect PE in clinical settings. Further studies are needed to enhance the conceptual clarity of PE and identify how to promote doctors' empathetic practice even in less favorable healthcare environments.

Empathy before entering practice: A qualitative study on drivers of empathy in healthcare professionals from the perspective of medical students

<abstract> <p>Literature has shown that clinical empathy is important for good and effective patient care; however, research into the underlying precursors driving empathy is lacking. In this study, we aim to explore the motivating factors of empathy in healthcare professionals from the perspective of medical students. A grounded theory approach was employed to study the driving influences behind empathy in healthcare professionals. Focus Group Discussions comprising 21 English-speaking Year 4 medical students from Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine were conducted in August 2018. The results revealed four drivers of empathy and they are affective, cognitive, moral and individual valuation of empathy. A novel perspective on the motivation of empathy suggests that individual valuation of empathy plays a moderating role in both promoting and reducing empathetic behaviors. This proposes that effectiveness of empathetic behaviors founded upon genuine care might vary compared to those without it, which is consistent with current literature. We have shown that affective, cognitive and moral foundations of empathy are essential driving forces of empathy, with the valuation of empathy playing a major role in propelling empathetic behavior. In understanding the perceptions of empathy, interventions could work on accentuating the positive impacts of empathy in patient care, which might in turn, compel healthcare workers to display increased empathy for better patient care.</p> </abstract>

The Effect of Multi-Dimensional Organizational Justice on Nurse Empathy in Islamic Religious Care Services During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Hospital

Nursing policy makers should read this research because nurses' empathy in patient care is strongly influenced by many factors, including organizational justice. Several previous research results have carried out this research. Even so, a firm answer is needed about whether empathy is influenced by organizational justice more comprehensively in its dimensions. Objective to determine the effect of multidimensional organizational justice on nurse empathy. This study uses a quantitative survey research method with a cross-sectional study approach with a sample of 126 nurse respondents. The sample used is purposive sampling. Data analysis used Structural Equation Modeling SEM AMOS 22.00. The results of the analysis p = 0.026, accepted, meaning that the procedural justice variable has a significant effect on empathy. The results of the analysis obtained that the value of p = 0.033, n is accepted, meaning that the Distributive Justice variable has a significant effect on empathy. The results of the analysis obtained the p*** value, accepted, meaning that the Interpersonal Justice variable had a significant effect on empathy. 4) The results of the analysis obtained that the value of p = 0.8 was rejected, meaning that there was no influence of Informational Justice on Empathy. Three dimensions of justice have an effect on empathy while informational justice has no effect on empathy

The Impact of Physician’s Moral Character and Empathy in Patient Care

The Impact of Physician’s Moral Character and Empathy in Patient Care

Empathy as related to gender, age, race and ethnicity, academic background and career interest: A nationwide study of osteopathic medical students in the United States.

ContextResearch on associations between medical student empathy and demographics, academic background and career interest is limited, lacks representative samples and suffers from single institutional features. This study was designed to fill the gap by examining associations between empathy in patient care, and gender, age, race and ethnicity, academic background and career interest in nationwide, multi‐institutional samples of medical students in the United States and to provide more definitive answers regarding the aforementioned associations, with more confidence in the internal and external validity of the findings.MethodsFour nationwide samples participated in this study (n = 10 751). Samples 1, 2, 3 and 4 included 3616 first‐year, 2764 second‐year, 2413 third‐year and 1958 fourth‐year students who completed a web‐based survey at the end of the 2017‐2018 academic year. The survey included questions on demographics, academic background and career interest, the Jefferson Scale of Empathy, and the Infrequency Scale of the Zuckerman‐Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire to control for the effect of ‘good impression’ response bias.ResultsStatistically significant and practically important associations were found between empathy scores and gender (in favour of women), race and ethnicity (in favour of African‐American and Hispanic/Latino/Spanish), academic background (in favour of ‘Social and Behavioural Sciences’ and ‘Arts and Humanities’ in Samples 1 and 2) and career interest (in favour of ‘People‐Oriented’ and ‘Psychiatry’ specialties).ConclusionsSpecial features of this study (eg, nationwide representative samples, use of a validated instrument for measuring empathy in patient care, statistical control for the effect of ‘good impression’ response bias, and consistency of findings in different samples from multiple institutions) provide more definitive answers to the issue of correlates of empathy in medical students and increase our confidence in the validity, reliability and generalisability of the results. Findings have implications for career counselling and targeting students who need more guidance to enhance their empathic orientation.

Comparing Empathy Levels in Doctor of Pharmacy Students and Exemplary Pharmacist Preceptors

Objective. To determine how student pharmacists' empathy compares to that of exemplary pharmacist preceptors. Methods. First- through third-year Doctor of Pharmacy students and nominated preceptors demonstrating a model level of empathy in patient care were invited to take the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) and answer demographic questions. A comparison of total JSE scores was made between students and preceptors. Comparisons of total JSE scores were performed between male and female students, students with and without direct patient care experience, students with and without chronic care experience, and among students based on class year. A factor analysis was completed. Results. The response rate for students and preceptors was 70.3% (n=318) and 73.7% (n=14), respectively. No significant differences in median JSE scores were identified for any of the comparisons. Factor analysis revealed two factors as underlying constructs: "compassionate care" and "perspective taking." Seven of 20 items on the JSE had mean scores >6.0 (possible range 1-7). Conclusion. The majority of students had moderately high cognitive empathy not related to class year that was similar to that of exemplary pharmacist preceptors. A possible ceiling effect was found in several items on the JSE, potentially limiting its use for measuring changes in empathy longitudinally in students with baseline high empathy.

You Can't Have It All: The Experience of Academic Hospitalists During Pregnancy, Parental Leave, and Return to Work.

The United States lags behind most other countries regarding the support for working mothers and parental leave. Data are limited to describe the experience of female hospital medicine physicians during pregnancy, parental leave, and their return to work in academic hospital medicine. We conducted a qualitative descriptive study including interviews with 10 female academic hospitalists chosen from institutions across the country that are represented in Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) Committees. Interview guides were based on the following domains: experience in pregnancy, parental leave, and return to work. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using a general inductive approach to theme analysis using the ATLAS.ti software (Scientific Software Development GmbH, Berlin, Germany). Women in hospital medicine experience the following six common challenges in their experience as new parents, each of which has the potential to impact their career trajectory, wellness, and are associated with areas for institutional improvement: (1) access to paid parental leave, (2) physical challenges, (3) breastfeeding, (4) career opportunities, (5) colleague responses, and (6) empathy in patient care.

Empathy Among Internal Medicine Residents in a Community-Based Training Program: A Pilot Study.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Background: Empathy in patient care is a highly valuable skill that is promoted in medical education; however, research conducted in academic centers strongly suggests a declining trend in empathy as years of medical education increase. Objective: To assess residents' empathy levels in a community-based internal medicine training program. We hypothesized that empathy in our program did not decrease with years of training. Methods: A cross-sectional, observational study of 22 resident physicians who completed the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy between May and October of 2013. The residents were at the end of their first (PGY1), second (PGY2), or third (PGY3) year of training, or were incoming interns (PGY0) at the beginning of their first year. Results: Of 48 eligible residents, responses of 22 (45%) are included in the analysis. The empathy scores for participants ranged from 96 to 136 with a mean of 117.4 and a SD of 10.1. Incoming residents, PGY1, 2 and 3 residents' mean scores were 109.7, 117.2, 114.3 and 124.0 respectively. There was no statistical difference between males and females or between PGY1 and PGY2 residents. A statistically significant difference in mean empathy scores was found between incoming residents and PGY3, with PGY3 residents scoring higher in empathy. Conclusion: The empathy scores in our internal medicine residency program identified higher levels of empathy associated with residents at the end of training. This may be related to our targeted curricula which includes behavioral science and geriatric medicine curriculums.

Clarifying changes in student empathy throughout medical school: a scoping review

Despite the increasing awareness of the relevance of empathy in patient care, some findings suggest that medical schools may be contributing to the deterioration of students' empathy. Therefore, it is important to clarify the magnitude and direction of changes in empathy during medical school. We employed a scoping review to elucidate trends in students' empathy changes/differences throughout medical school and examine potential bias associated with research design. The literature published in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French from 2009 to 2016 was searched. Two-hundred and nine potentially relevant citations were identified. Twenty articles met the inclusion criteria. Effect sizes of empathy scores variations were calculated to assess the practical significance of results. Our results demonstrate that scoped studies differed considerably in their design, measures used, sample sizes and results. Most studies (12 out of 20 studies) reported either positive or non-statistically significant changes/differences in empathy regardless of the measure used. The predominant trend in cross-sectional studies (ten out of 13 studies) was of significantly higher empathy scores in later years or of similar empathy scores across years, while most longitudinal studies presented either mixed-results or empathy declines. There was not a generalized international trend in changes in students' empathy throughout medical school. Although statistically significant changes/differences were detected in 13 out of 20 studies, the calculated effect sizes were small in all but two studies, suggesting little practical significance. At the present moment, the literature does not offer clear conclusions relative to changes in student empathy throughout medical school.

Empatía y ética en médicos

Empathy and ethical behavior in the care of the human being are important aspects that must take into account every professional who works in health, and especially the physicians who work in the area of care and also in the area of clinical research. Empathy and ethical conduct allows to carry out not only a convenient medical practice, but also enables the physician-patient encounter to be good, productive, satisfying both and that their results produce the good pursued. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the empirical concept of empathy, empathy in patient care and medical ethics, according to the existing literature, grounding the importance of empathic and ethical behavior in medical practice.

Jewish Values, Empathy, and the Doctor-Patient Relationship

Patients who suffer from serious illness need doctors and nurses who are both technically skilled and capable of engaging with them and with their families on a human level. The emotional burden associated with care for the sick, though, is high and may lead clinicians to adopt distancing behaviors that leave patients feeling isolated and alienated. I offer examples from my own 30-year experience as a medical oncologist and suggest that aspects of religious thought and practice may help clinicians maintain a sense of connection and purpose. Specifically, I propose that modern Jewish thought, exemplified by the writing of Martin Buber, is one useful way to understand the underlying the significance of a clinician-patient encounter and the character traits required in clinical practice. Empathy in patient care, Buber might argue, is humanistic action that reflects an often-unacknowledged religious sensibility. Curricula that encourage open-minded dialogue between religious voices and secular medical scientists, ethicists, and practitioners, religion as source of focused concern for the other, offers the hope of promoting ever more competent, respectful, and empathic care of the sick. Religion in this understanding is grounded in hopeful appreciation rather than in dogmatic certainty.