Empathy Scores Research Articles

Patient Satisfaction and Perception of Physician Empathy in Outpatient Community General Neurology Telemedicine

Abstract
 Introduction: We assessed patients’ satisfaction and perception of physician empathy after implementation of video telemedicine service for general neurology follow-up visits at two community spoke clinics that serve patients in rural areas located approximately 45 miles from a medical center hub.
 Methods: Consecutive patients who completed a telemedicine neurology follow-up visit from February 12, 2020 to January 13, 2021 at the spoke clinic in Red Wing, MN and from July 21, 2021 to January 21, 2022 at the spoke clinic in Austin, MN were asked to complete a paper-based survey at the conclusion of the telemedicine visit. The neurologist conducted the telemedicine visit from the medical center hub site in Rochester, MN or from their own home using the InTouch (Teladoc Health™) operating system mobile telehealth platform. All patients had previously completed an initial traditional face-to-face consultation at the spoke clinic with the same neurologist performing the follow-up telemedicine visit. Primary outcomes were Telemedicine Patient Satisfaction Measure and Consultation and Relational Empathy scores and mean total favorable survey responses.
 Results: 31 patients at our clinic in Red Wing, MN and 38 patients at our clinic in Austin, MN participated in telemedicine neurology follow-up visit, completed the survey, and were included in the final analysis.
 The mean Telemedicine Patient Satisfaction Measure scores (possible score of 12-60) were 55 (range 42-60), and for all items ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ was rated on average 94% of the time. The mean Consultation and Relational Empathy scores (possible score of 10–50) were 44 (range 28–50), and for all items ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ was rated on average 90% of the time. 
 Both neurologists conducting telemedicine visits reported that this model of care improved work-life balance with reduced travel time.
 Discussion: We successfully implemented a telemedicine service for general neurology follow-up visits at two community spoke clinics serving patients in rural areas without compromising on perceived care. We were able to bridge the gap between patients’ needs for local care and physicians’ need for work-life balance. Patients’ perception of physician empathy and satisfaction with telemedicine neurology follow-up visits was high. This model of telemedicine avoids the barriers of limited internet access in rural areas and minimizes technology related anxiety that is often present in telemedicine visits to patients’ homes. This model allowed for high quality neurological examination with high resolution pan-tilt-zoom camera on a mobile platform, incorporation of vital signs, nursing support, and lab services that may have contributed to the patients’ and neurologists’ satisfaction. Our study supports our continuation and expansion of this TM model in our community clinic spoke sites and may help to improve access to neurological care for patients in rural areas.
 Keywords: Telemedicine, patient satisfaction, empathy, general neurology, teleneurology

Effectiveness of Debriefing for Meaningful Learning (DML) Combined with Empathy Map on Prelicensure Nursing Students’ Competency: A Quasi-Experimental Study

BackgroundDebriefing for Meaningful Learning (DML) is a systematic debriefing process. DML combines with empathy map has yet to be empirically tested. MethodThis is a quasi- experimental study to evaluate effectiveness of DML combined with empathy map on prelicensure nursing students. Participants were recruited from the final semester of baccalaureate nursing program. Cluster were randomly assigned to the control group or interventional group using a computer- generated block randomization table. Data were collected through a self-administered structured questionnaire from March 2021 to June 2021. ResultsThe DML combined with empathy map showed significantly better improvements in four aspects of clinical reasoning: awareness of clinical signals, confirmation of clinical problems, decision and implementation of the action, and assessment and reflection (p < .05). The total and subscale empathy scores of the interventional group also showed significantly different at post-test than the control group (p < .05). ConclusionsDML combined with empathy map in debriefing enhanced nursing students’ ability to analyze a patient's information from patients' perspectives, integrate theoretical knowledge and care activities.

Correlation between levels for stress with level of empathy in undergraduate medical students.

To determine the correlation between levels of stress with level of empathy in all five years of undergraduate medical students of a private medical college in Pakistan. This descriptive correlation study was conducted at Al Tibri Medical College, Karachi from 15th June to 14th November 2021. Of the 500 students in the medical school, 408 participants filled out the questionnaires through online Google Forms. The student's version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE-S) estimated the self-reported student's empathy levels. At the same time, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was utilized to assess the student's levels of stress. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22.0 and correlation between empathy and perceived stress was calculated by Pearson's coefficient. A p-value <.05 was considered statistically significant. Out of 408 participants, there were 217(53.2%) males, and 191(46.8%) females. The overall mean JSE-S score was 94.60±11.85, and the mean PSS score was 20.20 ±5.70. Empathy scores improved over the basic sciences years and then significantly decreased in the clinical years of medical college with a significant p-value of .019. The highest stress was present in third year medical students with a p-value of <.001. No statistically significant difference was present between empathy and stress levels (r = 0.04, p = .40). The study showed no statistically significant correlation between empathy and stress. Future research is needed to investigate other main factors for the decline in empathy among medical students.

Augmented reality-based affective training for improving care communication skill and empathy.

It is important for caregivers of people with dementia (PwD) to have good patient communication skills as it has been known to reduce the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) of PwD as well as caregiver burnout. However, acquiring such skills often requires one-on-one affective training, which can be costly. In this study, we propose affective training using augmented reality (AR) for supporting the acquisition of such skills. The system uses see-through AR glasses and a nursing training doll to train the user in both practical nursing skills and affective skills such as eye contact and patient communication. The experiment was conducted with 38 nursing students. The participants were assigned to either the Doll group, which only used a doll for training, or the AR group, which used both a doll and the AR system. The results showed that eye contact significantly increased and the face-to-face distance and angle decreased in the AR group, while the Doll group had no significant difference. In addition, the empathy score of the AR group significantly increased after the training. Upon analyzing the correlation between personality and changes of physical skills, we found a significant positive correlation between the improvement rate of eye contact and extraversion in the AR group. These results demonstrated that affective training using AR is effective for improving caregivers' physical skills and their empathy for their patients. We believe that this system will be beneficial not only for dementia caregivers but for anyone looking to improve their general communication skills.

Levels of Empathy among Turkish Students in Pharmacy and Pharmacy Services Programs

To our knowledge, there is currently no research examining the levels of empathy among students enrolled in pharmacy or pharmacy services programs in Türkiye. The purpose of the present study was to address this gap in the literature by assessing the empathy levels of students enrolled in the pharmacy and pharmacy services programs at Atatürk University using the Turkish version of the Empathy Quotient (EQ-40) measurement tool. The study aims to answer two primary questions: (1) what are the empathy levels of students in the pharmacy services and the pharmacy programs? and (2) are there any differences in empathy levels based on demographic variables such as gender, academic year, and family income? A total of 306 students out of 766 pharmacy program students and 86 students out of 144 students in the pharmacy services program at Atatürk University voluntarily participated in the study. The study utilized a cross-sectional design, administering the Turkish version of the Empathy Quotient to students via a questionnaire delivered through Google Forms. The mean EQ scores for pharmacy and pharmacy services students were 45.8±11.1 and 45.9±12.9, respectively. And there was no statistically significant difference between the empathy scores of two programs. After conducting one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test to investigate the difference between academic year and empathy scores, a significant difference was observed in the pharmacy program, but no significant difference was observed in the pharmacy services program. Our findings showed that empathy scores for pharmacy students were slightly above average, fluctuated throughout their education, and were notably low in recent years. Additionally, empathy scores were slightly above average among students enrolled in pharmacy services program. These findings suggest that both programs should incorporate empathy education into their curricula to enhance students' empathy levels, which in turn would ensure that future professionals possess the necessary skills to communicate effectively with patients and provide optimal care.

Measuring the Empathy of Medical Students in Ahvaz Jundishapuz University of Medical Sciences and Its Relationship With Their Age, Sex, and Religiosity

Background and Objectives Empathy plays a social role in interpersonal relationships, including interactions between doctors and patients. This study aims to investigate the level of empathy in students Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (AJUMS) and its relationship with age, sex, and religiosity. Subjects and Methods In this cross-sectional descriptive study, participants were 361 AJUMS students, who were selected using a convenience sampling method in 2020. Jefferson scale of empathy and Glock &amp; Stark religiosity scale were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using an independent t-test, Pearson correlation test, and linear regression. Results The mean total empathy score of students was 106.42±14.82, and their mean total religiosity score was 57.04±14.19. A statistically significant relationship was observed only between empathy and the emotions dimension of religiosity (r=0.125, P=0.018). No significant relationship was observed between empathy and the total score of religiosity and its other dimensions. The mean empathy score in female students was significantly higher than in male students (109.15 vs. 103.02, P˂0.001). Regression analysis results showed that the emotions dimension of religiosity, age, and sex were able to predict the level of empathy in students. Conclusion The empathy in AJUMS students is at a relatively favorable level, and has a positive significant correlation with the emotions dimension of religiosity in them. It is recommended to develop plans to strengthen the empathy of medical students and include an educational course in their curriculum so that they be able to improve the mental and spiritual health of patients.

PELATIHAN EMPATI UNTUK MENURUNKAN PERILAKU BULLYING PADA PELAKU BULLYING SISWA SMP

ABSTRACT : This study aims to determine the effect of empathy training to reduce bullying behavior. The design used is a one grop pretest and posttest design. Subjects 8 students with an age range of 12 – 14 years who were bullies at school. The measuring instrument uses a scale of bullying and empathy. Data analysis used paired sampel t-test to see differences in bullying behavior and empathy before and before the intervention was given. The result showed tahat there was a decrease in the score of bullying behavior during the intervention posttest with a vale of 19,887 and p-vale = 0.000 (&lt;0.05) while the empathy score during the posttest after the intervention decreased with a value of - 8.922 and p-vale = 0.000 (&lt;0,05). The implication of this research is that empathy training based on an experiential learing approach can be used as a method to reduce bullying behavior.

Neural correlates of perceptual switching and their association with empathy and alexithymia in individuals with and without autism spectrum disorder

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often show limited empathy (poor recognition of others’ emotions) and high alexithymia (poor recognition of own emotions and external thinking), which can negatively impact their social functioning. Previous experimental studies suggest that alterations in cognitive flexibility play key roles in the development of these characteristics in ASD. However, the underlying neural mechanisms that link cognitive flexibility and empathy/alexithymia are still largely unknown. In this study, we examined the neural correlates of cognitive flexibility via functional magnetic resonance imaging during perceptual task-switching in typical development (TD) adults and adults with ASD. We also investigated associations between regional neural activity and psychometric empathy and alexithymia scores among these populations. In the TD group, stronger activation of the left middle frontal gyrus was associated with better perceptual switching and greater empathic concern. Among individuals with ASD, stronger activation of the left inferior frontal gyrus was associated with better perceptual switching, greater empathy, and lower alexithymia. These findings will contribute to develop a better understanding of social cognition, and could be informative for the development of new ASD therapies.

Empathy and attitude towards geriatric patients among dental students in clinical settings: A descriptive study

Empathy in dentistry is the ability to recognize the patient's inner needs and sentiments during their visit and assist them in achieving a high rate of treatment success. Empathy has received little attention in the field of dentistry. Hence the present study was planned with an aim to know how first and final year undergraduate students value empathy and their attitude towards geriatric patients. Material and methodA cross sectional descriptive research was conducted among first year and final years undergraduate students. Self-administered validated questionnaires were provided through electronic media and information was collected. ResultsA total of 168 students participated in the present research with 103(61.7%) females and 65 (38.2%) males. Mean empathy scores assessed by Jefferson Scale was more among final years (77.20) in comparison to first years (66.25) and it was statistically significant. Kogan's attitudes scale showed more attitude score among first-year students (123.08) than fourth year (144.84). The difference obtained found to be statistically significant. (p<0.001) ConclusionThe final year students were more empathetic than the first-year students. Hence, educating the students on the importance of empathy from the beginning of their course, can become an integrated part of their approach to geriatric patient care and improve the overall quality of healthcare.

Clinical Empathy and Its Correlates Among Indian Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study of Bihar.

Background Clinical empathy is standing in the patient's shoes and perceiving his/her emotions to experience the patient's feelings. Practicing empathy ensures an enticing prospect in patient care. This study was done among undergraduate medical students to assess their empathy level and the factors affecting it. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted with 400 medical students in Bihar, India. Students not willing to participate were excluded from the study. The coding system was designed to strictly maintain anonymity. The study tools included the Jefferson Scale for Physician Empathy - Student Version (JSPES), a semi-structured questionnaire on the general profile, a perceived stress scale (PSS), and a multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS). Participants were allotted 20 minutes to complete the test and submit their responses. Results were expressed as means and standard deviations (SDs), with appropriate statistical tests applied. The data were presented in tables, and statistical significance was checked at a 5% level. All statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS software. Results The arithmetic mean (±SD) of empathy scores was 99.87±14.71. Empathy was found to be positively correlated with social support and negatively with stress. The factors found to be significantly associated with empathy on univariate analysis were subjected to stepwise multiple linear regression, which provided a six-factor model comprising gender, choice of future specialty, stress, social support, residence, substance abuse, and stay in hospital as an attendant. Conclusions Stress and social support were found to be significant predictors of empathy. The female gender, living in urban areas, and having previous experience of hospital stay as an attendant of a patient were positively associated with empathy. In contrast, choosing a technical branch as a future specialty and substance abuse were negatively associated with empathy. Stress management, enhancement of social support, and avoidance of habit-forming substances could be beneficial in improving empathy among doctors. Since we could only identify a few factors, we recommend further studies on this topic to explore other factors.

Evaluating the Level of Inter Professional Communication and Collaboration Self-Efficacy and Empathy with Patients among Medical Residents in Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, 2020

Background: Medical assistants spend numerous hours of their day in the work environment, which may influence their performance. Empathy with the patients has a significant impact on the treatment process. This study was conducted among residents of different medical disciplines to determine self-efficacy in inter professional collaboration and empathy in dealing with the patients.&#x0D; Methods: This was a descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study on all medical residents at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. Data was collected via the following questionnaires: demographic (including age, gender, marital status, year of study, and specialty), Jefferson’s scale of empathy, self-efficacy, and Hagemeier’s interring professional collaboration.&#x0D; Results: Of the 162 questionnaires distributed, 135 were received (response rate = 83.33%). The mean age and work experience were 31.42 ± 4.56 and 2.70 ± 4.18 years, respectively. Self-efficacy scores in inter professional cooperation and teamwork was at a good level and empathy scores were at a moderate level. There was a significant relationship between marital status and self-efficacy (p = 0.03). Empathy was related to medical residents’ level of interest in their field (p = 0.019). There was no gender difference in empathy (p = 0.77) and self-efficacy scores (p = 0.36). However, males had higher inter professional communication scores compared to females (p = 0.001). Psychiatric residents had the highest and orthopedic residents had the lowest scores in empathy with the patients, empathic patient care, and emotional separation. &#x0D; Conclusion: This study showed that medical residents had an acceptable level of self-efficacy and empathy, which differed among medical fields. Similar studies should be conducted to therefore assemble an educational program for medical residents to increase empathic patient care and achieve inter professional cooperation goals.

The process and outcomes of chronic low back pain treatment provided by osteopathic and allopathic physicians: a retrospective cohort study.

Osteopathic physicians are trained to treat patients with musculoskeletal symptoms, to treat somatic dysfunction with osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), and to avoid unnecessarily prescribing drugs such as opioids. It is also generally believed that osteopathic physicians provide a unique patient-centered approach to medical care that involves effective communication and empathy. Such training and characteristics of osteopathic medical care (OMC) may enhance clinical outcomes among patients with chronic pain. The objectives of this study were to measure and compare the process and longitudinal outcomes of chronic low back pain (CLBP) treatment provided by osteopathic and allopathic physicians and to identify mediators of the treatment effects of OMC. This retrospective cohort study was conducted utilizing adult participants with CLBP within the Pain Registry for Epidemiological, Clinical, and Interventional Studies and Innovation (PRECISION) from April 2016 through December 2022. Participants having an osteopathic or allopathic physician for at least 1month prior to registry enrollment were included and followed at quarterly intervals for up to 12months. Physician communication and physician empathy were measured at registry enrollment. Opioid prescribing and effectiveness and safety outcomes were measured at registry enrollment and for up to 12months and were analyzed with generalized estimating equations to compare participants treated by osteopathic vs. allopathic physicians. Multiple mediator models, including physician communication, physician empathy, opioid prescribing, and OMT, with covariate adjustments, were utilized to identify mediators of OMC treatment effects. A total of 1,079 participants and 4,779 registry encounters were studied. The mean (SD) age of participants at enrollment was 52.9 (13.2) years, 796 (73.8 %) were female, and 167 (15.5 %) reported having an osteopathic physician. The mean physician communication score for osteopathic physicians was 71.2 (95 % CI, 67.6-74.7) vs. 66.2 (95 % CI, 64.8-67.7) for allopathic physicians (p=0.01). The respective mean scores for physician empathy were 41.6 (95 % CI, 39.9-43.2) vs. 38.3 (95 % CI, 37.6-39.1) (p<0.001). There was no significant difference in opioid prescribing for low back pain between osteopathic and allopathic physicians. Although participants treated by osteopathic physicians reported less severe nausea and vomiting as adverse events potentially attributable to opioids in a multivariable model, neither result was clinically relevant. OMC was associated with statistically significant and clinically relevant outcomes pertaining to low back pain intensity, physical function, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) over 12months. Physician empathy was a significant mediator of OMC treatment effects in each of the three outcome domains; however, physician communication, opioid prescribing, and OMT were not mediators. The study findings indicate that osteopathic physicians provide a patient-centered approach to CLBP treatment, particularly involving empathy, that yields significant and clinically relevant outcomes pertaining to low back pain intensity, physical function, and HRQOL over 12months of follow-up.

Effect of empathy training on the empathy level of healthcare providers in Ethiopia: a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Empathy has deteriorated throughout clinical training and medical practice, and little is known about the effect of empathy training on the empathy level of healthcare providers. To address this gap, we assessed the effect of empathy training on the empathy level of healthcare providers in Ethiopia. A cluster randomized controlled trial study design was conducted from 20 December 2021 to 20 March 2022. The empathy training intervention was conducted for three consecutive days. The study was conducted in five fistula treatment centers in Ethiopia. The participants were all randomly selected healthcare providers. Total mean score, percentage changes, and Cohen's effect size were computed. A linear mixed effects model and independent t-test were used for data analysis. A majority of the study participants were nurses in the profession, married, and first-degree holders. There was no statistically significant difference in the baseline empathy score of the intervention arm across their socio-demographic features. At the baseline, the mean empathy scores of the control and intervention arms were 102.10 ± 15.38 and 101.13 ± 17.67, respectively. The effect of empathy training on the total mean score changes of empathy of the intervention arm compared to the control arm at each follow-up time had a statistically significant difference. After a week, a month, and three months of post-intervention, the total mean empathy scores between the intervention and control arms were as follows: (intervention 112.65 ± 18.99, control 102.85 ± 15.65, d = 0.55, p = 0.03); (intervention 109.01 ± 17.79, control 100.52 ± 12.57, d = 0.53, p = 0.034); and (intervention 106.28 ± 16.24, control 96.58 ± 14.69, d = 0.60, p = 0.016) with the overall percentage changes of 11, 8, and 5% from the baseline scores, respectively. In this trial, the empathy training intervention was found to have more than a medium effect size. However, over the follow-up intervals, there was a decreasing trend in the total mean empathy scores of healthcare providers; suggesting that there should be continued empathy training and integration of it into educational and training curriculums to enhance and sustain the empathy of healthcare providers.Clinical Trial Registration: Pan African Clinical Trial Registry: http://www.edctp.org/panafrican-clinical-trials-registry or https://pactr.samrc.ac.za, PACTR202112564898934.

Studying trait-characteristics and neural correlates of the emotional ego- and altercentric bias using an audiovisual paradigm

ABSTRACT In social interactions, emotional biases can arise when the emotional state of oneself and another person are incongruent. A person’s ability to judge the other’s emotional state can then be biased by their own emotional state, leading to an emotional egocentric bias (EEB). Alternatively, a person’s perception of their own emotional state can be biased by the other’s emotional state leading to an emotional altercentric bias (EAB). Using a modified audiovisual paradigm, we examined in three studies (n = 171; two online & one lab-based study) whether emotional biases can be considered traits by measuring two timepoints within participant and relating empathy trait scores to emotional biases, as well as the electrophysiological correlates of emotional biases. In all studies, we found a congruency effect, reflecting an EEB and EAB of small size. Both biases failed to correlate significantly within participants across timepoints and did not display significant relationships with empathy trait scores. On the electrophysiological level, we did not find any neural emotional bias effects in the time–frequency domain. Our results suggest that EEB and EAB effects are strongly task sensitive. Caution is warranted when studying interindividual differences in emotional biases using this paradigm, as they did not show significant test-retest reliabilities.

Empathy Levels in Medical Students: A Single Center Study.

Objectives To determine the level of empathy in medical students and to determine the difference in empathy levels between the two genders in a single center. Materials & methods This qualitative study was conducted at a medical college in Peshawar from March 2021 to July 2021. Institutional ethical committee approval was taken (RMI/RMI-REC/Approval/83) before commencing the study. All students admitted into the medical college in the current academic year 2020 to 2021 were included in the study. Any students that did not fill out the questionnaire completely were excluded. The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) was used in this study. The questionnaire was uploaded on google forms for data collection. All the resulting scores were entered into IBM SPSS version 23.0. The mean TEQ score was calculated. Box and whisker plots were made for respective years. An Independent sample t-test was used to determine the association between mean TEQ scores and gender. Results Of 367 students, 347 (94.6%) participated in this study, with a slight female predominance (53%). The mean age of the students was 21.44 (SD = 1.751) years. The participation rate was≥70% from each class. Most participants across the years have an above-average empathy score (49.9%). Among the participants, the year I (67.6%) showed most participants with high empathy. Year IV (40.6%) has the highest proportion of below-average empathy scores. The mean empathy score of female students was 49.08 (S.D = 7.588), while the empathy score for male students was 44.59 (S.D = 7.58). Conclusion Empathy levels decline as medical education is progressed through the years. Females show a greater sense of empathy than their male counterparts. A slight increase in empathy levels is seen in the final year of medical school after a decline over the initial years.

Medical Students’ Empathy During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A cross-sectional study

Several authors have underlined the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in several populations, including medical students, such as increases in anxiety, depression and burnout symptoms. Furthermore, previous studies showed that anxiety and depressive symptoms are positively associated with affective empathy and negatively associated with cognitive empathy. Given the adverse pandemic effects highlighted by several authors, the present study sought to determine whether medical students’ empathy has been potentially impacted, with higher affective empathy and lower cognitive empathy score in the pandemic cohort compared to pre-pandemic cohorts. Medical students (n = 395) were recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic and completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Basic Empathy Scale (BES). This cohort was then compared with two pre-pandemic cohorts (one used the BES [n = 1168], and the other used the IRI [n = 342]). Similar results were found on both scales: the pandemic cohort displayed significantly higher scores in affective empathy and personal distress (affective empathy domain) and, surprisingly, significant higher scores in cognitive empathy, fantasy, and perspective-taking (cognitive empathy domains). As stressed by previous studies, we posited that the higher scores in affective empathy, personal distress, and fantasy might indicate emotional difficulties. The paper concludes with the identification of empathy components that should be promoted in the curriculum of medical students. Keywords: medical education; medical students; empathy; COVID-19, affective empathy, cognitive empathy

Relational empathy, holistic care and quality of life in persons with spinal cord injuries: A cross-sectional study.

High-quality health systems are built on the concept of patient-centred approach which includes holistic care and empathy. With time, this has progressively been recognized as a valuable paradigm for better health outcomes, particularly in chronic diseases. The study aims to determine the patient's perception during his/her consultation and to assess the relationship between CARE measure with demographic/injury variables and Quality of Life. The present cross-sectional study was conducted among 226 SCI individuals. Data was collected via structured questionnaire, WHOQOL-BREF, and CARE measure. Independent t- test is used to compare WHOQOL-BREF domains with two groups of CARE measure. Logistic regression was used to determine the significant factors of CARE measure. In the logistic regression analysis, it was observed that higher quality of life score has significantly higher odds of getting higher CARE score with a remarkable odds ratio(O.R 1.0264, 1.0121,1.0261,95% C.I,P-value = 0.0001,0.0472, 0.0001). The quality of life of the present population is closely associated with greater perceptions of holistic care and empathy in the therapeutic patient-provider relationship. Lack of coordination, poor quality of life and limited communication between patient and provider may arise when the latter focuses only on treating disease rather than treating a patient as a "Whole person".

Empathy of dental students and educators in French hospitals: A cross-sectional study.

Empathy is a key factor in the dentist-patient relationship. The aim of this study was to determine empathy in dental students and educators in French hospital dental services. A cross-sectional study was conducted among dental students and educators who practiced in 10 hospital dental services affiliated with the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Lorraine in France. A questionnaire was self-administered online using the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE). The study included 209 participants comprising 50 students in fourth year, 66 students in fifth year, 48 students in sixth year, and 45 educators. Participants were 63.6% females, aged 27 ± 8 years. The mean empathy score was 109.40 ± 11.65. The sub-scores of the three dimensions were 57.02 ± 6.64 for Perspective Taking, 42.56 ± 6.22 for Compassionate Care, and 9.78 ± 2.61 for Walking in the Patient's Shoes. Females showed significant higher empathy scores than males (111.36 vs. 105.84). The empathy score was correlated with age and insignificantly decreased during clinical training (from 110.06 in fourth year to 106.63 in sixth year). French dental students and educators showed high levels of empathy.

Cultural competence in critical care nurses and its relationships with empathy, job conflict, and work engagement: a cross-sectional descriptive study

BackgroundCultural competence is more important than ever for nurses today; therefore, it may be helpful to learn more about it and examine how it relates to empathy, job conflict, and work engagement. The purpose of this study was to determine (a) the level of cultural competence, empathy, job conflict, and work engagement; (b) the relationship between cultural competence, demographic information, and main variables; (c) the predictors of cultural competence among critical care nurses.MethodsA multicenter, descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Iran from August to October 2022. Through convenience sampling, 153 critical care nurses from three hospitals participated. The research tool consisted of five parts: Demographic information questionnaire, Cultural Competence Questionnaire, Jefferson Scale Empathy, Dobrin Job Conflict, and Utrecht Work Engagement, which were collected by paper self-report. Descriptive statistics, the correlation between variables, and linear regression were used to analyze the data.ResultsAmong critical care nurses (response rate 79.27%), the mean (SD) scores for cultural competence, empathy, job conflict, and work engagement were 74.05 (7.96), 83.44 (29.17), 11.00 (2.38), and 43.69 (16.33), respectively. There was a significant correlation between cultural competence and age (r = 0.46, p = 0.001), marital status (r = 0.27, p = 0.004), academic degree (r = 0.44, p = 0.001), work experiences (r = 0.43, p = 0.001), empathy (r = 0.50, p = 0.001), and job conflict (r=-0.16, p = 0.049). Academic degree (β = 0.36, p < 0.001) and empathy (β = 0.26, p < 0.001) were significant explanatory variables that predict cultural competence.ConclusionIn Iranian critical care nurses, cultural competence and job conflict were moderate, empathy was good, and work engagement was poor. There was a significant relationship between cultural competence, age, marital status, academic degree, work experiences, empathy, and job conflict. Academic degree and empathy predict cultural competence.

Do we care? Nursing faculty experiences with ethnocultural empathy

The nursing workforce in America continues to experience significant challenges. Namely, the lack of student and faculty diversity in nursing programs leaves workforce diversity in a gridlock. Well documented in the literature, the nursing workforce does not match the current demographics in the United States. This poses significant obstacles with far-reaching implications, from student and faculty trauma and violence to adverse patient outcomes. Improving inclusion and reducing barriers for historically and intentionally marginalized people involves self-awareness and appropriate expressions of empathy. This study used a quantitative exploratory method with a cross-sectional design to survey nurse faculty (n = 318) empathy nationwide utilizing the scale of ethnocultural empathy. The findings indicate that, overall, nurse faculty report moderate levels of ethnocultural empathy (15.25 ± 1.87). However, when the data were stratified by participant-reported racialized groups, non-white participants had statistically significant higher empathy scores F (25, 257) = 4.35, p < .001. These findings are consistent with research reporting the adverse experiences of underrepresented students and faculty in nursing programs and the persistent racism, oppression, and violence they face. Increasing empathy through ongoing self-awareness, perspective-taking, and training with a full review of institutional policies can mitigate exclusionary harm. Institutional commitment to diversity alone will not rectify contemporary challenges. Intentional actions to create inclusive spaces, remove barriers, and improve empathy are critical implications for nursing programs nationwide.