Empathy Scores Research Articles

The impact of knowledge brokering on nurses’ empathy with patients receiving cardiac care: an experimental study

Background: Patients with cardiovascular diseases often experience fear of death, depression and anxiety, all of which are linked to a heightened risk of future cardiac events. Research indicates that improved empathy is associated with a reduced risk of such events, making the enhancement of empathy among cardiac nurses crucial. Knowledge brokering, a strategy that utilises various interventions to strengthen practice, is key to achieving this. Purpose: This study aims to examine the impact of knowledge brokering on nurses’ empathy towards patients receiving cardiac care. Methods: This experimental study involved 100 cardiac nurses who were randomly assigned to control and intervention groups. The intervention group received knowledge brokering using Dobbin’s seven-stage method. Empathy levels were measured using the Empathy Construct Rating Scale (ECRS), with scores ranging from +252 to -252, and analysed using SPSS version 21. Results: Findings showed a significant mean empathy change score (MECS) of 22.90 ± 50.93 in the intervention group (p=0.003) compared to 7.10 ± 60.20 in the control group (p=0.408). Notably, nurses with a baseline empathy score of ≥100 in the intervention group exhibited a significantly higher adjusted MECS than the control group (11.44 units versus -15.42 units). Conclusion: Knowledge brokering can enhance empathy in moderately empathic cardiac nurses, with its effectiveness influenced by the nurses’ initial empathy levels. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the knowledge brokering strategy in healthcare settings.

Communication skills influence horse owners' trust in their equine veterinarians.

Trust is an essential component of the relationship between veterinarians and horse owners. To what extent do horse owners consider their vets to be trustworthy, what aspects are important to horse owners when evaluating their vet's trustworthiness and how can equine vets become more trusted? Using an anonymous online survey, we asked horse owners whether they consider their veterinarians to be credible, reliable, empathetic and self-orientated, and therefore trustworthy compared with other professionals. Which of their equine vet's characteristics and behaviours influence how credible, reliable, empathetic and self-orientated, and therefore trustworthy, they appear? Credibility, reliability, empathy and self-orientation scores for equine veterinarians, human medical general practitioners (GPs), hairdressers/barbers and dentists were compared using a Kruskal‒Wallis H-test and post hoc Dunn's test and then combined to create a trustworthiness rating. The importance of various characteristics and behaviours displayed by equine vets when horse owners assess how credible, reliable, empathetic and self-orientated they appear was investigated using quantitative scoring and thematic analysis. A total of 415 horse owners completed the survey. Overall, respondents considered equine veterinarians to be significantly more credible, reliable and empathetic than GPs, hairdressers/barbers and dentists. Using the trust equation, equine veterinarians had the highest trustworthiness rating(8.33), followed by hairdressers/barbers and dentists (5.5) and then GPs (4.75). Only the views of a small subset of horse owners are represented. As such, the findings may not be representative of horse owners more generally. Veterinarians' communication skills influence clients' perceptions of their credibility, reliability, empathy and self-orientation. Additionally, equine veterinarians should develop their clinical skills and knowledge to increase credibility. Meanwhile, perceptions of reliability, empathy and self-orientation can be improved by continuity of care, demonstrating a clear interest in the patient and avoiding rushed consultations, respectively.

A Study of People's Satisfaction with Public Services of Tha Sala Subdistrict Administrative Organization, Tha Sala District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province

Background and Aims: Public service, essential for societal well-being, must ensure benefits for the collective public through transparent, continuous, and equitable delivery. Assessing citizen satisfaction in areas such as accessibility, empathy, response time, convenience, and value is critical for enhancing public services and fostering trust and loyalty among citizens. Thus, this research aims to (1) study the level of service quality and level of satisfaction with public services of Tha Sala Subdistrict Administrative Organization. And (2) Investigate the intricate relationship between personal factors, service quality, and satisfaction with public services within the Tha Sala Subdistrict Administrative Organization, Tha Sala District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. Methodology: Convenience sampling was used in the study to poll 200 consumers of public services provided by the Tha Sala Subdistrict Administrative Organization with a 95% confidence level. While inferential statistics, such as Chi-Square tests and correlation coefficients, tested hypotheses on service quality and satisfaction, descriptive statistics were utilized to analyze demographic data. Content analysis was used to examine the open-ended responses. Results: The Tha Sala Subdistrict Administrative Organization provides the highest quality public services, excelling in investment, environment, social order, quality of life, and infrastructure. Satisfaction is also at the highest level, with top scores in accessibility, response time, and empathy. Personal factors like gender, age, and income do not affect satisfaction, highlighting the organization's fair and unbiased service. Conclusion: High satisfaction with accessibility, response time, and empathy is ensured by the excellent public services provided by the Tha Sala Subdistrict Administrative Organization in a variety of domains. Given that personal characteristics like gender, age, and income have no bearing on satisfaction levels, it is clear that the organization is committed to providing fair and impartial service.

Comparing Provider and ChatGPT Responses to Breast Reconstruction Patient Questions in the Electronic Health Record.

Patient-directed Electronic Health Record (EHR) messaging is used as an adjunct to enhance patient-physician interactions but further burdens the physician. There is a need for clear electronic patient communication in all aspects of medicine, including plastic surgery. We can potentially utilize innovative communication tools like ChatGPT. This study assesses ChatGPT's effectiveness in answering breast reconstruction queries, comparing its accuracy, empathy, and readability with healthcare providers' responses. Ten deidentified questions regarding breast reconstruction were extracted from electronic messages. They were presented to ChatGPT3, ChatGPT4, plastic surgeons, and advanced practice providers for response. ChatGPT3 and ChatGPT4 were also prompted to give brief responses. Using 1-5 Likert scoring, accuracy and empathy were graded by 2 plastic surgeons and medical students, respectively. Readability was measured using Flesch Reading Ease. Grades were compared using 2-tailed t tests. Combined provider responses had better Flesch Reading Ease scores compared to all combined chatbot responses (53.3 ± 13.3 vs 36.0 ± 11.6, P < 0.001) and combined brief chatbot responses (53.3 ± 13.3 vs 34.7 ± 12.8, P < 0.001). Empathy scores were higher in all combined chatbot than in those from combined providers (2.9 ± 0.8 vs 2.0 ± 0.9, P < 0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in accuracy between combined providers and all combined chatbot responses (4.3 ± 0.9 vs 4.5 ± 0.6, P = 0.170) or combined brief chatbot responses (4.3 ± 0.9 vs 4.6 ± 0.6, P = 0.128). Amid the time constraints and complexities of plastic surgery decision making, our study underscores ChatGPT's potential to enhance patient communication. ChatGPT excels in empathy and accuracy, yet its readability presents limitations that should be addressed.

Exploring the Role of Narrative Medicine in the Cultivation of Humanistic Spirit among Respiratory Medicine Interns

Objective: To explore the role of narrative medicine in cultivating the humanistic spirit of respiratory medicine interns. Methods: Thirty interns were selected, all of whom were received by the respiratory department of our hospital from September 2023 to June 2024 and underwent narrative medicine teaching. Scores on narrative medicine knowledge, empathy ability, humanistic care ability, and teaching recognition were compared before and after the internship. Results: Compared to before the internship, the interns’ scores on narrative medicine knowledge were significantly higher after the internship, as were their empathy and humanistic care scores (P &lt; 0.05). Among the 30 interns, 25 expressed interest in narrative medicine, and 29 were willing to continue with the narrative medicine teaching model. Conclusion: The application of narrative medicine in respiratory medicine internship teaching is highly effective. It cultivates the humanistic spirit of interns, improves their empathy and humanistic care abilities, and is worthy of wider implementation.

Advancing health coaching: A comparative study of large language model and health coaches

ObjectiveRecent advances in large language models (LLM) offer opportunities to automate health coaching. With zero-shot learning ability, LLMs could revolutionize health coaching by providing better accessibility, scalability, and customization. The aim of this study is to compare the quality of responses to clients' sleep-related questions provided by health coaches and an LLM. Design, setting, and participantsFrom a de-identified dataset of coaching conversations from a pilot randomized controlled trial, we extracted 100 question-answer pairs comprising client questions and corresponding health coach responses. These questions were entered into a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)-enabled open-source LLM (LLaMa-2-7b-chat) to generate LLM responses. Out of 100 question-answer pairs, 90 were taken out and assigned to three groups of evaluators: experts, lay-users, and GPT-4. Each group conducted two evaluation tasks: (Task 1) a single-response quality assessment spanning five criteria—accuracy, readability, helpfulness, empathy, and likelihood of harm—rated on a five-point Likert scale, and (Task 2) a pairwise comparison to choose the superior response between pairs. A suite of inferential statistical methods, including the paired and independent sample t-tests, Pearson correlation, and chi-square tests, were utilized to answer the study objective. Recognizing potential biases in human judgment, the remaining 10 question-answer pairs were used to assess inter-evaluator reliability among the human evaluators, quantified using the interclass correlation coefficient and percentage agreement metrics. ResultsUpon exclusion of incomplete data, the analysis included 178 single-response evaluations (Task 1) and 83 pairwise comparisons (Task 2). Expert and GPT-4 assessments revealed no discernible disparities in health coach and LLM responses across the five metrics. Contrarily, lay-users deemed LLM responses significantly more helpful than that of human coaches (p < 0.05). LLM responses were preferred in the majority (62.25 %, n = 155) of the aggregate 249 assessments, with all three evaluator groups favoring LLM over health coach inputs. While GPT-4 rated both health coach and LLM responses significantly higher than experts in terms of readability, helpfulness, and empathy, its ratings on accuracy and likelihood of harm aligned with those of experts. Response length positively correlated with accuracy and empathy scores, but negatively affected readability across all evaluator groups. Expert and lay-user evaluators demonstrated moderate to high inter-evaluator reliability. ConclusionOur study showed encouraging findings by demonstrating that RAG-enabled LLM has comparable performance to health coaches in the domain tested. Serving as an initial step towards the creation of more sophisticated, adaptive, round-the-clock automated health coaching systems, our findings call for more extensive evaluation which could assist in the development of the model that could in the future lead to potential clinical implementation.

The effect of aged simulation suit on nursing students’ empathy, attitudes, and willingness to care for older adults: Experimental trial mixed-method study

ABSTRACT This study investigates the impact of age simulation suits on nursing students’ empathy, attitudes, and willingness to care for older adults. An experimental trial with a mixed-method design was conducted during the spring semester of the 2023–2024 academic year, involving 43 third-year nursing students. The intervention group (n = 23) wore age simulation suits, while the control group (n = 20) wore placebo clothing. Pre- and post-testt assessments measured empathy, attitudes toward older adults, and willingness to work with them. Content analysis was performed on the intervention group’s experiences. Results indicated a significant increase in the intervention group’s willingness to work with older adults after the simulation (Z = –3.232, p < .001; Hedges’ g: 0.819). However, no significant changes were observed in empathy or attitude scores (p > .05), and the control group showed no significant changes in any measured variables (p > .05). Content analysis revealed four key themes related to students’ feelings: (i) isolation and dependency, (ii) physical challenges and limitations, (iii) emotional responses and empathy, and (iv) changes in behavior and perception. Additionally, four main themes regarding new learnings were identified: (i) understanding and empathy, (ii) patience and communication, (iii) practical challenges and adaptation, and (iv) long-term impact and reflection. Two themes emerged on how nursing students can best approach older adults in their future practice: (i) enhancing care through empathy and training and (ii) promoting safety and well-being through preventive measures.

Group empathy for pain is stronger than individual empathy for pain in the auditory modality.

Humans live in collective groups and are highly sensitive to perceived emotions of a group, including the pain of a group. However, previous research on empathy for pain mainly focused on the suffering of a single individual ("individual empathy for pain"), with limited understanding of empathy for pain to a group ("group empathy for pain"). Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the cognitive neural mechanisms of group empathy for pain in the auditory modality. The study produced group painful voices to simulate the painful voices made by a group, and recruited 34 participants to explore differences between their responses to group painful voices and individual painful voices using the event-related potential (ERP) techniques. The results revealed that group painful voices were rated with higher pain intensity, more negative affective valence, and larger P2 amplitudes than individual painful voices. Furthermore, trait affective empathy scores of the participants were positively correlated with their P2 amplitudes of group painful voices. The results suggested that the group empathy for pain may facilitate affective empathetic processing in auditory modality.

Training on empathy skills for elderly persons to medical undergraduates: A quasi-experimental study

ABSTRACT Introduction: Undergraduate medical students often lack the soft skill of empathy which is considered as an important attribute for doctors. Hence, this study was conducted to improve the empathy skills among undergraduate students of a medical college in Kolkata. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in the Rural Health Training Centre of a medical college in Kolkata among the undergraduate medical students during community medicine posting. Students were assessed for baseline empathy by Jefferson’s Scale of Empathy (student’s version) (JSE-S). Baseline perception was taken from geriatric persons about the empathy level of medical undergraduates using Jefferson’s Scale of Patient’s Perception about Physician’s Empathy (JSPPE). Training module was prepared, validated and imparted. Post-training score was obtained using the scales for students as well as geriatric persons. Data were entered in MS Excel and analysed using STATA MP16. Results: Total of 93 students participated. Overall Mean ± SD of pre-score of JES-S was 102.03 ± 13.02, and post-score was 109.03 ± 14.57; the difference was found to be statistically significant (P &lt; 0.001). With respect to JSPPE, score difference was found to be statistically significant (P &lt; 0.001). Significant difference was present in scores between the students who prefer people-oriented specialities compared to the technology-oriented specialities (P &lt; 0.05). Increase in mean empathy score was significantly higher among female students than their male counterparts (P = 0.01). Conclusion(s): The study shows the effectiveness of training module in increasing empathy score among medical undergraduates which is the need of the hour to establish the proper building block of doctor-patient relationship.

Comprehensive Analysis of Empathy by Using Jefferson Scale of Empathy – Student Version Among Undergraduate Medical and Dental Students

Empathy is essential in medicine, but many healthcare professionals struggle to integrate empathetic communication in practice. This study aims to assess empathy levels among medical and dental students and their association with age. Objectives: To evaluate empathy levels among medical and dental students using the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Student Version and examine the correlation with age. Methods: Conducted at a private medical college in Lahore, this study involved 324 medical and dental students. Empathy levels were measured using the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy and the data were analyzed with SPSS version 24.0. Non-parametric tests were employed to assess differences in the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy and subscale scores among participants, with statistical significance set at p&lt;0.05. Results: The average Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy score was 66.67 ± 9.5. Among the subscales, "standing in the patient's shoes" had the lowest average score. Bachelor of Dental Surgery students scored slightly higher in perspective-taking and compassionate care, while MBBS students scored higher in standing in the patient's shoes. An inverse relationship between age and empathy scores was observed, with older students exhibiting lower empathy levels. Conclusions: It was concluded that Empathy levels among medical students in Pakistan were lower compared to international studies. Emphasizing empathy in medical education should be a priority to enhance compassionate care and professional development among future healthcare professionals.

Zoom Improv is accessible and enhances medical student empathy

BackgroundEmpathy declines during medical training, despite its importance.MethodologyIn this randomized controlled trial, we assessed the impact of Zoom improv on medical student empathy using a concurrent mixed-methods approach. Quantitative assessment with three survey tools and qualitative assessment by content analysis of Zoom session field notes were conducted.ResultsZoom improv participants had higher empathy scores in perspective-taking and fantasy and lower scores in personal distress compared with the control group. Medical students who participated in Zoom improv exercised emotional expression, active listening, and giving “gifts,” which apply to healthcare settings in which affirming team members with empathic concern can advance communication, patient rapport, and teamwork.DiscussionThis pilot study highlights promising findings for the incorporation of Zoom improv in medical education, including enhanced empathy, self-reflection, and understanding how these skills impact work in healthcare. Future studies may expand on the optimal timing to teach improv. Future studies conducted on virtual platforms may also further investigate our finding that the fantasy domain of empathy increases after Zoom improv sessions, whereas this increase in fantasy was absent from previous in-person studies. Given the increase in telehealth and virtual medical visits, exercising empathy skills through a screen during training may be an important addition to medical curricula.

Impaired Social Attention and Cognitive Empathy in a Paediatric Sample of Children with Symptoms of Anxiety.

Impairments in social cognition, in particular empathy, have been associated with childhood psychopathology, though previous investigations have yielded inconsistent results. Measures of social attention can reveal processes involved in responses to emotional stimuli and highlight deficits in empathy, or emotional biases in those with anxiety. The current study examined symptoms of anxiety, cognitive and affective empathy scores, and eye-gaze patterns in a pediatric sample of children (n = 178; 51-98 months-old) referred by their teachers for emerging psychopathology symptoms at school. We used eye-tracking metrics to capture gaze patterns during a dynamic video task designed to elicit empathic responses. Anxiety symptomology was reported by parents using the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders scale (SCARED). Associations between eye-tracking variables, cognitive and affective empathy, and anxiety scores were analysed dimensionally in accordance with the Research and Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework. Higher levels of anxiety were associated with lower cognitive empathy and shorter first and total fixation durations to the eyes, across emotions (happiness, sadness, fear). No such associations were found between affective empathy and anxiety. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that across emotion conditions, first fixation duration negatively predicted anxiety scores. Our results indicate that children high in anxiety display cognitive empathy impairments and shorter attention to the eyes. These findings could inform early intervention programs for individuals at risk of developing anxiety disorders, as educating those high in anxiety on ways to identify emotions in others through changes in social attention could help to reduce anxiety.

Empathy development through game-based learning: An investigative study on nursing professionals

BackgroundEmpathy is at the core of patient-centred care. Evidence has continually found that empathy helps foster therapeutic relationships and is essential in the delivery of quality healthcare. In India, many factors are barriers to empathy for nursing professionals. Objectives1.To design and test a game for Indian nurses to practice empathy.2.To develop and test reliability of a learner feedback form3.To test the impact of the game on the empathy of nurses Design and methodsThe IDEO design thinking process was followed to design the game. A focus group discussion with 18 nurses helped identify relevant scenarios and barriers to empathy. A scenario of an interaction between a nurse and a cancer patient was identified to create the game. The game mechanics, rubrics, and scenarios were built based on feedback from diverse professionals consisting of doctors, nurses, and UX designers. A learner feedback form assessing usability, contextual specificity, engagement, and perceived learnability was created and its reliability was tested. The game was tested on 60 nurses, followed by administration of the learner feedback form. To assess changes in empathy, an empathy scale was administered before the intervention and seven days after the intervention on 20 nurses. ResultsThe learner feedback form was found to have Cronbach's Alpha >0.70, and therefore reliable. The responses to the learner feedback form were analysed using the Chi Square test and were found to be positive and statistically significant (p-value<0.001).The differences in pretest and posttest empathy scores were analysed using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test and were found to be statistically significant as well (p-value<0.001). ConclusionsThe positive response to the learner feedback form, and the improvement in empathy scores after the intervention, indicates that games have a potential role in teaching empathy to Nursing Professionals.

263 Public perspectives of calf handling: A survey of Canadians

Abstract In North American beef production handling and restraint of young calves is integral to animal welfare and management practices. This study used a mixed method approach to gather public perceptions of three handling and restraint methods common on beef operations in western Canada (RW - Roping and Wrestling, NF – roping and NordForks, and TT – Tilt Table). Canadian participants (n = 551) recruited by CloudResearch to represent the national demographics participated in an online survey that included videos of each handling method to ascertain preferences and acceptability. Prior to watching the videos, participants were given industry information about handling and restraint or generic information regarding hay as a control information statement within the topic of agriculture. The survey also collected information about knowledge of the beef industry, animal welfare, and empathy toward animals. The reasons for preferences were described as presence of a perceived positive attribute and absence of a perceived negative for most preferred methods, and inversely when explaining least preferred method. The findings focused on calf’s experience, perception of handler actions, and pragmatic balancing of handler needs and a good life for the calf. Methods were rated as more acceptable for participants that ate meat consistently, knew more about the beef industry, and, to a lesser extent, if the individual had a lower animal empathy score (Table 1). Acceptability was not affected by providing information about the practices; however, information about handling and restraint did elicit more pragmatic reasoning. Most participants preferred TT over NF and RW (P &amp;lt; 0.001) and found TT more acceptable as well (P &amp;lt; 0.001). The TT was the most preferred method due to calf experience and human handling, notably the absence of dragging a calf, which was predominant in why participants selected NF or RW as their least preferred method. Consistency of themes highlights that the Canadian public has a fundamental expectation of value for the quality of life of the calf, humane handling, and pragmatism which aligns with beef sustainability initiatives and represent points of connection for building trust between industry and the public.

Breaking bad news: an active learning method for medical students

BackgroundBreaking bad news is one of the most difficult aspects of communication in medicine. The objective of this study was to assess the relevance of a novel active learning course on breaking bad news for fifth-year students.MethodsStudents were divided into two groups: Group 1, the intervention group, participated in a multidisciplinary formative discussion workshop on breaking bad news with videos, discussions with a pluri-professional team, and concluding with the development of a guide on good practice in breaking bad news through collective intelligence; Group 2, the control group, received no additional training besides conventional university course. The relevance of discussion-group-based active training was assessed in a summative objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) station particularly through the students’ communication skills.ResultsThirty-one students were included: 17 in Group 1 and 14 in Group 2. The mean (range) score in the OSCE was significantly higher in Group 1 than in Group 2 (10.49 out of 15 (7; 13) vs. 7.80 (4.75; 12.5), respectively; p = 0.0007). The proportion of students assessed by the evaluator to have received additional training in breaking bad news was 88.2% (15 of the 17) in Group 1 and 21.4% (3 of the 14) in Group 2 (p = 0.001). The intergroup differences in the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Jefferson Scale of Empathy scores were not significant, and both scores were not correlated with the students’ self-assessed score for success in the OSCE.ConclusionCompared to the conventional course, this new active learning method for breaking bad news was associated with a significantly higher score in a summative OSCE. A longer-term validation study is needed to confirm these exploratory data.

Эмпати чадварыг тодорхойлох асуулгын психометрик чанарыг судалсан нь

Empathy is an important skill in social communication, and a high score of empathy is associated with relationships with others, psychological well-being, and high life satisfaction. There is no methodology for studying aspects of empathy that have been translated and validated in the Mongolian context yet. In this study, we evaluate the psychometric properties of the Mongolian version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (M-IRI). The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) was translated into Mongolian following the method committee approach, and an expert panel working in their field assessed its content validity. The final version of the questionnaire was prepared and administered to 381 teenagers in four schools located in the capital of Mongolia. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the four-factor structure 18-item (M-IRI) is better than the original version 28-item. Thus, the 18-item M-IRI questionnaire demonstrates acceptable internal consistency and is a reliable measure for Mongolian adolescents.

Unfolding the empathic insights and tendencies among medical students of two gulf institutions using interpersonal reactivity index

BackgroundEmpathy is an essential core competency for future doctors. Unfortunately, the medical curriculum is infamously known to burn out aspiring doctors, which may potentially lead to a decline in empathy among medical students. This research was planned to understand the evolution of empathic approaches among students across the curriculum using the Interpersonal reactivity index (IRI) as a benchmark at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland - Medical University of Bahrain (RCSI-MUB) and University of Sharjah (UoS).MethodsWe adopted a cross-sectional design and administered an online survey to the medical students of RCSI-MUB and UoS using a modified version of the IRI along with its three subscales of empathic concern (EC), perspective taking (PT), and personal distress (PD). To identify intra- and inter-institutional variations in empathy scores, the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed separately for each institution and with both institutions combined. A two-way ANOVA was conducted for the comparison between years and institutions. For the subscale analysis of EC, PT, and PD, we used one-way ANOVA for significant differences between years at both institutions. For the gender-effect analysis, t-test was performed to examine the differences in total IRI scores at both institutions combined and at each institution separately. Additionally, an Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was done to identify the influence of gender on empathy scores.ResultsA total of 140 students from both institutions participated in this study. We found a fluctuating pattern of empathy scores without a clear trend across the years. The sub-scales of EC, PD, and PT across academic years at both institutions showed significant differences within the EC at RCSI-MUB (p = 0.003). No significant differences were identified across other years from both institutions. There were significant differences between empathy scores from RCSI-MUB and UoS for EC (p = 0.011). Additionally, a pronounced interaction effect between year and institution was observed for PT (p = 0.032). The gender-wise analysis showed that female students had higher empathy scores than males (p = 0.004). The ANCOVA for IRI score results revealed a p-value of 0.023, indicating that gender plays a crucial role in empathy levels among medical students. The ANCOVA results revealed a p-value of 0.022 in the EC subscale.ConclusionOur study unveiled intricate patterns in empathy development among medical students across years and genders at RCSI-MUB and UoS. These congruences and dissimilarities in empathy scores signal a subjective understanding of empathy by medical students. The disparities in understanding may encourage medical educators to embed empathy in standard medical curricula for better healthcare outcomes.

Empathy ability and influencing factors among pediatric residents in China: a mixed-methods study

BackgroundEmpathy is one of the fundamental factors enhancing the therapeutic effects of physician–patient relationships, but there has been no relevant research in China on the pediatric resident physicians’ capacity for empathy or the influencing factors.MethodsA mixed-methods study was undertaken. The student version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy was used to assess 181 postgraduate residents at Shanghai Children’s Medical Center and Shanghai Children’s Hospital. Differences in empathy ability among pediatric resident physicians of different genders and specialties were analyzed using independent sample t-tests and Mann–Whitney U tests. A one-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the differences in empathy ability at different educational levels and years of medical residency training. Seven third-year postgraduate pediatric residents from Shanghai Children’s Medical Center participated in semi-structured interviews exploring the influencing factors. We analyzed the interview transcripts using thematic analysis.ResultsThe scale was completed by 154 pediatric residents. No statistically significant differences in empathy were found between educational level, postgraduate year, gender, or specialty. The factors influencing empathy in doctor–patient communication included the person who accompanied the child to see the doctor, how the children cooperated with doctors for medical treatment, the volume of pediatric outpatient and emergency visits, and the physician’s ability to withstand pressure. All interviewed resident physicians regarded learning empathy as important but rarely spent extra time learning it.ConclusionsThe evaluation results of resident physicians on changes in empathy after improving clinical abilities vary according to their understanding of empathy, and the work environment has an important impact on pediatricians’ empathy ability. Their empathy score is relatively low, and this requires exploration and intervention.

Comparative study of the relationship between empathy and motivation among undergraduate students of new curriculum and old curriculum.

The new competency-based curriculum incorporates the social sciences and humanism to the basic and clinical sciences, thus giving an integrated approach to medical education. Comparing the empathy score with the motivation level across the two curricula was thus planned to assess the current status. A cross-sectional qualitative study using an Internet-based electronic survey containing both an academic motivation scale to assess the motivation level and Jefferson's scale of empathy was used to assess empathy score. From the above study, we concluded that males have a higher empathy score across both the curricula. >95% of students of both categories belonged to the High Intrinsic High Control motivational category. The empathy scores were slightly higher among the CBME (Competency Based Medical Education) group compared to the non-CBME group, but it was not statistically significant. In subgroup analysis, Phase 3 was found to have a significant association. The majority of the students fall in the High Intrinsic High Control category, where they have the next highest level of empathy. Phase 2 was found to have a significant association; it could be because of the positive effects of AETCOM classes on the ready-to-enter clinical exposure batch. The study also revealed that while motivation and empathy are generally linked, outliers existed, particularly among participants with low initial motivation but high empathy. This suggests a potential association between extrinsic motivation and empathy, possibly influenced by external factors.

Empathy, Moral Sensitivity, and Prosocial Behavior Among Medical Undergraduates in a South Indian Tertiary Care Teaching Institute: An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study.

Empathy, moral sensitivity, and prosocialness are critical traits for medical professionals, as they affect patient care quality and ethical decision-making. These traits help address psychological complexities like stress and burnout in medical practice. Despite their importance, the relationships between these traits, especially among medical students, remain underexplored. This study aims to assess empathy, moral sensitivity, and prosocialness among medical students in South India, focusing on gender differences and their associations. This cross-sectional study was conducted at Saveetha Medical College, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, with 369 medical undergraduates. Data were collected using three standardized tools: the Interpersonal Reactivity Index for empathy, the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire, and the Prosocialness Scale for Adults. The questionnaire, including demographic data, was administered online with anonymity and consent. Descriptive statistics summarized demographic data. Inferential analyses, including t-tests, chi-square tests, Pearson correlations, and multivariate regression, examined relationships between empathy, moral sensitivity, pro-social behavior, and demographics. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Ethical approval was obtained from Saveetha Medical College's Ethics Committee. The mean age of participants was 20.5 ± 2 years, with 183 males (49.6%) and 186 females (50.4%). The majority were first-year students (29.8%), followed by second-year (19.5%) and final-year part I students (19.2%).Final professional part II students and interns comprised 15.4% and 16%, respectively. Females scored significantly higher in empathy domains like perspective-taking (15 ± 3.3 vs. 14 ± 3.4), fantasy (14.4 ± 4 vs. 13.6 ± 3.3), and empathetic concern (15.3 ± 3.5 vs. 14.2 ± 3.1), with p values <0.05. Overall, 186 females (50.4%) had a mean empathy score of 59 ± 9, compared to 183 males (49.6%) with 56.2 ± 7.1 (Cohen's d = 0.33). In moral sensitivity, females scored higher in modifying autonomy (7 ± 2.3 vs. 6.3 ± 2.2), structuring moral meaning (4.6 ± 2 vs. 4.15 ± 1.6), and expressing benevolence (16 ± 4 vs. 15 ± 4), with significant differences (p < 0.05). The total moral sensitivity score was higher in females (57 ± 10 vs. 54 ± 9), with a moderate effect size (Cohen's d = 0.3). Males scored higher in prosocialness, with 183 males (49.6%) scoring 54 ± 7, compared to 186 females (50.4%) with 51.5 ± 7.2 (Cohen's d = 0.3). Weak but significant correlations were found between empathy and prosocialness (r = 0.132, p = 0.011) and between moral sensitivity and prosocialness (r = 0.479, p < 0.001). Regression analysis identified gender, prosocial behavior, and specific moral sensitivity dimensions as significant predictors of empathy scores. This study revealed significant gender differences in empathy, moral sensitivity, and prosocialness among medical students. Females scored higher in empathy and moral sensitivity, whereas males showed greater prosocial behavior. The positive correlations between empathy and prosocialness and between moral sensitivity and prosocialness highlight their interconnectedness. Educational interventions that target empathy and moral sensitivity could help nurture more compassionate, ethical healthcare professionals. Future research should explore how these traits evolve throughout medical education.