Emotional Implications Research Articles

Implications of failure on students who have repeated a class in a faculty of pharmacy

IntroductionAcademic failure is a major contributor to attrition in pharmacy education, and this attrition is also associated with other effects that are secondary fallouts of academic failure. This study sought to assess the emotional implications and overall psychological impact of academic failure among students who repeated at least one class in the pharmacy program at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria. MethodsThe study involved 177 students from the 200 level to 500 level at the School of Pharmacy, OAU who had repeated at least one class. A pretested questionnaire was administered using a random sampling method. The questionnaire was divided into four sections assessing demographics, the academic emotions caused by academic failure, the psychological effects of failure, and the possible effects of academic failure on subsequent performance. ResultsResults indicated that the most common emotions among students who had repeated a class included shame (80%), anger (77.4%), anxiety (61%), and boredom (61%), which are all negative academic emotions. The repurposed Impact of Event Scale gave a median score of 41 out of a possible 42. Respondents also agreed that feelings of boredom, anger, anxiety, and shame subsequently impacted class attendance, learning, and test preparation. ConclusionsThe study showed that students who had repeated at least one class experienced negative academic emotions and may have suffered symptoms typical of post-traumatic stress disorder. These emotional effects of academic failure were also noted to impact subsequent academic performance.

Supplemental Material for Chinese Canadians’ Experiences of the Dual Pandemics of COVID-19 and Racism: Implications for Identity, Negative Emotion, and Anti-Racism Incident Reporting

Supplemental Material for Chinese Canadians’ Experiences of the Dual Pandemics of COVID-19 and Racism: Implications for Identity, Negative Emotion, and Anti-Racism Incident Reporting

Assessing the relationship between agency and peer violence among adolescents aged 10 to 14 years in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo and Blantyre, Malawi: A cross-sectional study.

Interpersonal violence has physical, emotional, educational, social, and economic implications. Although there is interest in empowering young people to challenge harmful norms, there is scant research on how individual agency, and, specifically, the "power to" resist or bring about an outcome relates to peer violence perpetration and victimization in early adolescence. This manuscript explores the relationship between individual agency and peer violence perpetration and victimization among very young adolescents (VYAs) living in two urban poor settings in sub-Saharan Africa (Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Blantyre, Malawi). The study draws on two cross-sectional surveys including 2,540 adolescents 10 to 14 years from Kinshasa in 2017 (girls = 49.8% and boys = 50.2%) and 1,213 from Blantyre in 2020 (girls = 50.7% and boys = 49.3%). The sample was school based in Malawi but included in-school and out-of-school participants in Kinshasa due to higher levels of early school dropout. Peer violence in the last 6 months (dependent variable) was defined as a four categorical variable: (1) no victimization or perpetration; (2) victimization only; (3) perpetration only; and (4) both victimization and perpetration. Agency was operationalized using 3 scales: freedom of movement, voice, and decision-making, which were further divided into tertiles. Univariate analysis and multivariable multinomial logistic regressions were conducted to evaluate the relationships between each agency indicator and peer violence. The multivariable regression adjusted for individual, family, peer, and community level covariates. All analyses were stratified by gender and site. In both sites, adolescents had greater voice and decision-making power than freedom of movement, and boys had greater freedom of movement than girls. Boys in both settings were more likely to report peer violence in the last six months than girls (40% to 50% versus 32% to 40%, p < 0.001), mostly due to higher rates of a perpetration-victimization overlap (18% to 23% versus 10% to 15%, p < 0.001). Adolescents reporting the greatest freedom of movement (Tertile 3) (with the exception of girls in Kinshasa) had a greater relative risk ratio (RRR) of reporting a perpetrator-victim overlap (boys Kinshasa: RRR = 1.9 (1.2 to 2.8, p = 0.003); boys Blantyre: RRR = 3.8 (1.7 to 8.3, p = 0.001); and girls Blantyre: RRR = 2.4 (1.1 to 5.1, p = 0.03)). Adolescents with the highest decision-making power in Kinshasa also had greater RRR of reporting a perpetrator-victim overlap (boys: RRR = 3.0 (1.8 to 4.8, p < 0.001). Additionally, girls and boys in Kinshasa with intermediate decision-making power (tertile 2 versus 1) had a lower RRR of being victimized (Girls: RRR = 1.7 (1.02 to 2.7, p = 0.04); Boys: RRR = 0.6 (0.4 to 0.9, p = 0.01)). Higher voice among boys in Kinshasa (Tertile 2: RRR = 1.9 (1.2 to 2.9, p = 0.003) and Tertile 3: 1.8 (1.2 to 2.8, p = 0.009)) and girls in Blantyre (Tertile 2: 2.0 (1.01 to 3.9, p = 0.048)) was associated with a perpetrator-victim overlap, and girls with more voice in Blantyre had a greater RRR of being victimized (Tertile 2: RRR = 1.9 (1.1 to 3.1, p = 0.02)). Generally, associations were stronger for boys than girls, and associations often differed when victimization and perpetration occurred in isolation of each other. A main limitation of this study is that the cross-sectional nature of the data does not allow a causal interpretation of the findings, which need further longitudinal exploration to establish temporality. In this study, we observed that peer violence is a gendered experience that is related to young people's agency. This stresses the importance of addressing interpersonal violence in empowerment programs and of including boys who experience the greatest perpetration-victimization overlap.

Visual design elements of product packaging: Implications for consumers' emotions, perceptions of quality, and price

AbstractThis study used three progressive experiments to isolate two dimensions of bottled water packaging: cap color and bottle shape. The objective of the first experiment was to test how the color of the bottle cap can change consumer preference. We evaluated four cylindrical bottles with different color caps (red, black, blue, and white). Results show that using a blue cap generates substantial positive changes in preference. The goal of the second experiment was to isolate the effect of bottle shape. Of the three bottle forms (cylindrical, squared, and anthropomorphic), the anthropomorphic was preferred. Results show that using a blue cap or an anthropomorphic shape improves preference and quality perceptions. A third experiment compared four price gaps (same price, 5%, 10%, and 20%) for the best versus worst shape and/color combination. In general, increasing the price of the bottle with the best color and shape decreases the choice preference. However, a 20% price increase improves the quality perception and inverts this trend. These results give product designers and marketing managers insights on how use color and shape to gain consumer preference.

Substantive Conditions of Adoption Regarding the Adopting Person or Family

Abstract This article analyzes the substantive conditions imposed by the Romanian legislator on persons wishing to adopt, the legal circumstances considered to be essential and indispensable for a person or a family to be able to adopt. From a historical point of view, the adoption has been permanently subject to conditions, imposed by the interests of the child without parental protection, of the state or of a logic common sense. The existence of conditions regarding the situation, attributes or aptitudes of the adopter does not contradict the general principle of non-discrimination, recognized and guaranteed by both national and international law. The regulation of restrictions on the possibility of adoption does not amount to discrimination against any citizen, as long as such restrictions or conditions are motivated by interests of a higher order than private ones and apply to all persons in a certain situation. Adoption is a complex social phenomenon due to the emotional implications on those involved in this process.

Towards best practice in school management of students with depressive disorders

There is growing evidence of an escalation of depression in young people. In light of this, schools are increasingly being confronted with the challenge of how to best manage students with depressive disorders. Such management includes consideration of the academic, behavioural, social and emotional implications of the disorder. This article provides school practitioners and management with a review of what constitutes ‘best practice’ in school management of students with depressive disorders. It adopts the mental health intervention framework of the Institute of Medicine, considering how school-based intervention occurs across the four domains of mental health promotion, prevention, case identification and treatment, as well as maintenance of students with or at-risk of depression. It provides a checklist for practitioners at each stage of the Institute of Medicine intervention spectrum. Moreover, it takes the view that best practice in psychology is always evidence-based practice, although discerning a clear path through the available research is not always obvious.

The Relationship between the Infertility Specialist and the Patient during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The doctor–patient relationship is fundamental in the treatment of infertility, due to the emotional implications of fertilization procedures. However, insufficient data are available specifically for this relationship. The general objective of the study is to establish the associations between the fundamental concepts that define the doctor–patient relationship: communication, empathy, trust, collaboration, compliance and satisfaction. A cross-sectional study was conducted between May and June 2020 and followed the methods of a quantitative analysis, collecting the data using questionnaires. The research plan was specific to path analysis with the mediation effect, in which the hypotheses were tested. The research group consisted of 151 women diagnosed with infertility, voluntarily recruited through online support communities. Findings demonstrate that affective empathy mediates the relationship between communication and trust in the doctor. In conclusion, this study draws attention to the importance of basic concepts in the relationship of infertility specialists with infertile patients. Thus, it is necessary for health care providers in assisted human reproduction to participate in programs for the continuous training of empathic communication skills, given the sensitivity of this diagnosis.

Can Automated Vehicles Be Useful to Persons Living With Dementia? The Perspectives of Care Partners of People Living With Dementia.

Background and ObjectivesDriving cessation is a complex challenge with significant emotional and health implications for people with dementia, which also affects their family care partners. Automated vehicles (AVs) could potentially be used to delay driving cessation and its adverse consequences for people with dementia and their care partners. Yet, no study to date has investigated whether care partners consider AVs to be potentially useful for people with dementia.Research Design and MethodsThis mixed-methods study assessed the views of 20 former or current family care partners of people with dementia on AV use by people with dementia. Specifically, questionnaires and semistructured interviews were used to examine care partners’ acceptance of AV use by people with dementia and their views about the potential usefulness of AVs for people with dementia.ResultsThe results demonstrated that care partners identified possible benefits of AV use by people with dementia such as their anticipated higher social participation. However, care partners also voiced major concerns around AV use by people with dementia and reported significantly lower levels of trust in and perceived safety of AVs if used by the person with dementia in their care compared to themselves. Care partners’ concerns about AV use by people with dementia included concerns around the driving of people with dementia that AVs are not designed to address; concerns that are specific to AVs but are not relevant to the nonautomated driving of people with dementia; and concerns that arise from existing challenges around the nonautomated driving of people with dementia but may be exacerbated by AV use.Discussion and ImplicationsFindings from this study can inform future designs of AVs that are more accessible and useful for people with dementia.

Coping profiles among teachers: Implications for emotions, job satisfaction, burnout, and quitting intentions

Research indicates that teachers use coping strategies regularly to manage stress and negative emotions. However, previous studies have primarily adopted a variable-centered approach that examines the effects of specific coping strategies and does not address how teachers use different combinations of coping strategies. The present study used a person-centered, latent profile analytical approach to explore varied coping strategies among Canadian practicing teachers (N = 947) in relation to positive and negative emotions, job satisfaction, burnout, and quitting intentions. Results demonstrated three main coping profiles characterized by different combinations of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies. Whereas adaptive copers (high problem-solving and seeking social support, low disengagement) represented the most adaptive profile, problem-avoidant copers (low problem-solving and support seeking, high problem avoidance) and social-withdrawal copers (high disengagement and social withdrawal) demonstrated poorer outcomes.

Laboratory Abnormalities in Acne Patients Treated With Oral Isotretinoin: A Retrospective Epidemiological Study.

BackgroundIsotretinoin has been used to treat moderate to severe acne. It is well known that isotretinoin can cause an elevation in liver enzymes, triglycerides, and cholesterol. Laboratory monitoring is indicated while patients are on isotretinoin, but the frequency of laboratory monitoring is very variable among physicians who prescribe it.Study objectivesThis study aimed to determine the frequency of laboratory abnormalities of triglycerides, cholesterol, and liver aminotransferases in acne patients treated with oral isotretinoin in order to assess the need for frequent laboratory monitoring while on isotretinoin and to study the association between body weight and laboratory abnormalities.MethodsA retrospective chart review has been conducted using data extracted from electronic medical records of the Department of Dermatology, Qassim University Medical City, Saudi Arabia. We included all acne patients who were treated with Isotretinoin for at least four months. Data were analyzed using the statistical program SPSS version 25 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.).ResultsA total of 407 patients met the inclusion criteria and were included in our study, 198 (48.6%) were female and 209 (51.4%) were males. Patients' age ranged from 10 to 51 years, with a mean age of 22.15 years. At baseline, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) was elevated in 5.4% of patients and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was elevated in 12.7% of patients. At the last visit, AST was elevated in 3.9% of patients while ALT was elevated in 9% of patients. Triglycerides level was elevated in 12.7% of patients at the last visit compared to 6.5% of patients at baseline. Total cholesterol was elevated in 9% of patients at the last visit compared to 10.5% of patients at baseline. The increase in triglyceride levels and differences between triglycerides (TG) classifications between baseline and last visit was statistically significant (P<0.001). Higher body weight was associated with a higher incidence of elevation in ALT and triglycerides levels, and this association was statistically significant. There was no statistically significant relationship between total cumulative dose and laboratory abnormalities in ALT, AST, triglycerides, or total cholesterol.ConclusionThe findings of this study indicate that oral isotretinoin can cause an elevation in ALT, AST, total cholesterol, and triglyceride levels but the incidence of these laboratory abnormalities is low and the elevation was not associated with significant morbidity, and therefore the practice of monthly laboratory monitoring for all patients while on isotretinoin needs to be revised as there is no strong evidence for such practice. We also found that patients with higher body weight are at higher risk of laboratory abnormalities and may require more frequent laboratory monitoring. Our findings support less frequent laboratory monitoring for acne patients on isotretinoin who had normal baseline labs. Frequent laboratory monitoring in these patients carries financial and emotional implications and lacks strong evidence to support this practice.

This is how it Feels: Activating Lived Experience in the Penal Voluntary Sector

Abstract Increasing calls for ‘nothing about us without us’ envision marginalized people as valuable and necessary contributors to policies and practices affecting them. In this paper, we examine what this type of inclusion feels like for criminalized people who share their lived experiences in penal voluntary sector organizations. Focus groups conducted in England and Scotland illustrated how this work was experienced as both safe, inclusionary and rewarding and exclusionary, shame-provoking and precarious. We highlight how these tensions of ‘user involvement’ impact criminalized individuals and compound wider inequalities within this sector. The individual, emotional and structural implications of activating lived experience, therefore, require careful consideration. We consider how the penal voluntary sector might more meaningfully and supportively engage criminalized individuals in service design and delivery. These considerations are significant for broader criminal justice and social service provision seeking to meaningfully involve those with lived experience.

COVID-19 and Aphasia.

Purpose of Review Aphasia is an acquired neurological language disorder after brain damages. Persons with aphasia (PWA) are more susceptible to behavioral and emotional implications due to inherent communication and/or cognitive difficulties. Currently, little is known regarding the impact of COVID-19 on PWA.Recent FindingsThere are now growing reports with evidence of neurological and dysexecutive syndromes subsequent to interference of brain functions in acute patients with COVID-19, leading to variable aphasia-like symptoms. COVID-19 affected chronic PWA more in terms of disrupted communication and daily routines, worsened psychosocial well-being, and difficulties getting aphasia services that adequately addressed their needs.SummaryAcute versus chronic PWA were disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Recognizing, examining, and managing COVID-19-related neurological and behavioral problems in PWA is not straightforward. As we passed the 1-year mark and approaching the 2-year mark of the onset of COVID-19, more research is necessary to prioritize strategies for improving current evidence-based care and rehabilitation of aphasia.

Emotional and psychological implications for healthcare professionals in disasters or mass casualties: A systematic review.

To synthesize and describe the emotional and psychological implications for healthcare professionals who provided care in a mass casualty incident or disaster. The experience of healthcare providers immersed in the actual uncertainty of an ongoing disaster is real, challenging, complex and strongly connected with emotions. Identifying these implications for healthcare professionals is essential for developing strategies to help these professionals deliver high-quality care. A systematic review was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Nursing & Allied Health Database and PsycINFO using published data until February 2021 and following the PRISMA guidelines. Nineteen articles were included. Factors associated with negative psychological implications were identified and different strategies have been synthesized to prevent or reduce them when caring for the victims of a disaster. Feelings of sadness, helplessness, fear and blockage, among others, were identified as common reactions among nurses and other healthcare professionals dealing in mass casualties or disasters. These reactions may lead to post-traumatic disorder, turning professionals into hidden victims. Organizations, senior charge nurses and other health service managers need to foster resilience and flexibility among their workforce to improve self-care during a disaster, as well as ensure policies to address a lack of emotional preparedness among their personnel. Some strategies to consider include cognitive behavioural therapy, psychoeducation or meditation.

ES15.06 Global Perspectives on Implicit Bias in Oncology Care: Canada

A cure for lung cancer may remain elusive until biases in healthcare are resolved. Accessibility, comprehensiveness, and quality of care are key cornerstones that a healthcare system must address in order to be equitable for all its citizens; unfortunately, this is not always the case in Canada. Many Canadian lung cancer patients face numerous biases in care, ranging from systemic issues, social determinants of health, clinical trials design. In Canada, lung cancer has become a postal code disease. For example, targeted therapy drug coverage varies widely across each province, such as crizotinib for ROS1 positive NSCLC received marketing authorization in August 2017. However in September 2020, it was only publicly reimbursed in four provinces (Lung Cancer Canada, 2020). Unfortunately, this equity in access is common across Canada where access to one treatment or test may be accessible in one province, but completely inaccessible in another. Stigma on lung cancer patients, structural racism on minorities and indigenous populations, and discrimination all feed the biases in the healthcare system, leading to delays in testing and treatment. Geographical concerns arise for those in remote areas, particularly Indigenous communities, as traveling long distances for care has financial and emotional implications. However, the biggest factor influencing equity is the association between lung cancer risk and socioeconomic status, where incidence rates of those in the lowest income quintile are 2.1 times higher than those in the highest quintile (Mitra, Shaw, Tjepkema, & Peters, 2015). Education is also a major factor, where lung cancer incidence is 2.8 times higher for those with less than a secondary school diploma compared to those with a university degree, and this plays a role in health literacy and their ability to understand medical terminology, utilize available educational resources, and advocate for potential treatment physicians may not be aware of (Mitra, Shaw, Tjepkema, & Peters, 2015). Clinical trials also impose implicit biases on accessibility, as trials are typically done in large city centers where higher incidence rates are found, and thus, greater opportunity to fill placements. Disadvantaged populations such as ethnic minorities, low-income individuals, those In jobs with limited flexibility, and rural residents are often underrepresented in such trials, and thus, they do not consider the patient’s perspective, leading to research that is inequitable. Significant systemic changes are needed to ensure underserved and underrepresented populations are able to access care for cancer prevention, treatment, and diagnosis. Within publicly funded healthcare systems, treatment costs are real concerns. However traditional assessments of value ignore costs such as time off work, travel to treatment. The value gained in non-traditional outcomes such as patient independence, mental wellness, and cultural preservation are real but difficult to capture. To preserve and further the medical gains in treatment advances, new assessments of value need to be developed, treatments planned with rollout and outreach in mind and clinical trials reflective of the real population they were designed to serve. Without these, a cure for lung cancer may be developed but remain unreachable for patients. Lung Cancer Canada. (2020). (rep.). The Faces of Lung Cancer Report. Retrieved from https://www.lungcancercanada.ca/LungCancerCanada/media/Documents/LCC2020_FOLCR_ENGLISH.pdf Mitra, D., Shaw, A., Tjepkema, M., & Peters, P. (2015). Social Determinants of Lung Cancer Incidence in Canada: A 13-year prospective study. Health Reports, 26(6), 12–20. Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-003-x/2015006/article/14195-eng.htm

Evaluation and Risk Assessment of Congenital Anomalies in Neonates.

Congenital anomalies (CA) are a large heterogeneous group of disorders of abnormal morphogenesis or biochemistry which present at birth and carry widely variable implications for morbidity and mortality. They are the leading cause of infant mortality in the USA, with an incidence of 3–4% of all births. CA are the fourth leading cause of neonatal mortality worldwide, with an estimated 295,000 deaths annually. The enormous variability in the clinical presentation in terms of severity, time of occurrence, course, complications, management, and outcomes makes the evaluation of CA complicated, highly specific, and individualized. The anomalies can impart tremendous physical, social, and emotional distress on the patient with massive emotional, social, financial, and medical implications for the family and society. The diagnosis may remain elusive despite rigorous, elaborate, and extensive investigations in many cases. While the enormous strides in genetic testing and gene modification therapy have an encouraging impact on the diagnosis and treatment, the risk assessment of recurrence in the family and population of CA remains obscure in most cases due to the lack of information and referable evidence.

Perception and Cognition. All Colors of the World: Metaphorization of Color

The present study investigates relationship of conventional Russian color metaphors with a group of directly embodied basic colors and a group of colors of secondary embodiment for twelve color domains categories within the boundaries of one cognitive system. The tallying of the metaphor data allowed to sort all color metaphors into six groups based on the presence in the mapping as a source or target domain of a particular component (concrete objects, fabrics, materials, abstract, philosophical ideas, moral qualities, names of the animals, emotions, and embodied components. The results of the study suggest that color metaphors of the primary embodied color group were more numerous and more diverse in meanings and emotional implications than that of the secondary embodied color group. Many metaphors in all six color domains in the first group were embodied, while metaphors in only one group of colors were embodied for the second group. Finally, metaphors in the group of primary embodiment were equally diverse in mappings with that of the color metaphors in the group of secondary embodiment.

Ambivalent storage, multi-scalar generosity, and challenges of/for everyday consumption

ABSTRACT Storage plays an important role in domestic practices as a banal yet essential means of practically accomplishing ‘living together’ and caring for people and material ‘stuff’. However, storage and stored things also occupy a provocative and paradoxical place in debates around the sustainability of household consumption. Driven by renewed popular and scholarly attention to ‘decluttering’ and eschewing anything that does not ‘spark joy’, this paper considers the emotional and practical implications of generosity – as both concept and practice – in articulating the sustainability potential in storage and stored things. In so doing we problematise assumptions about ‘clutter’ as unsustainable. Drawing on vignettes from two projects concerned with material consumption in young adulthood, and drawing on – but going beyond – extant framings of geographies of care, we illustrate how shifting spatial and temporal ambivalences of storage mediate opportunities to engage in and with different scales of generosity. We argue that spatialities of storage are often less about deferring acts of divestment than they are a space in which to situate materialisations of significant emotional, care-ful(l) connections. We reflect on the implications of storage for sustainable consumption in the home and suggest how future work drawing on geographies of generosity might enrich our understanding.

A journey of emotions from a young environmental activist

AbstractThe Earth is currently undergoing a sixth global‐scale ecological crisis. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report of 2021 highlighted a need to curb global heating at 1.5 degrees above the pre‐industrial baseline, and outlined a range of likely impacts of climate change on global societies should no action be taken, particularly in relation to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. Despite this need, policy‐based action at a nation state level is lacking, with talks at COP25 failing to reach necessary agreements. In response to this, and as we approach COP26, a significant global youth movement has been activated, with children and young people taking it upon themselves to highlight a need for climate and environmental action, calling for others to follow. This paper follows the emotional journey of one of its co‐authors, 11‐year‐old environmental activist, Lucie. Through the innovative approach of co‐production with Lucie, in this paper we detail the role of emotion in one youth activist’s journey. From her initial reactions watching BBC’s Blue Planet II, to the multifaceted highs and lows that have followed as she strives for change, we illuminate the emotional implications such experiences may have on children and young people.

Translating Al-Fuzai’s ’The Passage of Time’

In ’The Passage of Time,’1 a teacher considers resigning in order to return to his hometown, but he receives notice that he can move to the place he has requested. Homesickness is treated as though it were a formidable foe in this short story. Even if it is a "barren, parched desert," like the situation in the story, identity is usually linked to the location to which it belongs. However, it is possible that one will have to relocate for few reasons. Displacement can have emotional and psychological implications, which can hinder one's ability to work. The teacher in the story is not in a teaching mode; he is drawn “toward the place...” from which “a considerable distance...2 separates him.” All he has left are "his ideas and memories" that bind him to his home. The memo he receives at the end of this story represents a new hope for him to reclaim what he has lost in his village education. In brief, the story emphasizes the necessity of having a job and the difficulty of finding a good job in one's own neighborhood.

P–494 The relationship between the infertility specialist and the patient during the COVID–19 pandemic

Study questionWhat are the basic elements of the infertility specialist - patient relationship?Summary answerFor study participants, elements such as empathy, communication, collaboration and trust are important factors in increasing compliance and satisfaction with treatment.What is known alreadyIn the literature, the doctor-patient relationship is seen as fundamental in the treatment of infertility, due to the emotional implications of fertilization procedures. However, not much data is available specifically for this relationship. Communication and interpersonal skills, empathy, trust, collaboration, compliance and satisfaction are essential elements in this medical context.Study design, size, durationA cross-sectional study was conducted between May and June 2020 and follows the methods of a quantitative analysis, the data being collected using questionnaires. The research plan is one specific to the path analysis with mediation effect, in which the hypotheses were tested.Participants/materials, setting, methodsThe research group consists of 151 women diagnosed with infertility, voluntarily recruited through online support communities. Self-reported questionnaires provided socio-demographic information, information related to infertility, as well as information on the relationship of patients with specialists. In order to test the proposed hypotheses, an analysis of structural equations was performed, using the AMOS 20 program.Main results and the role of chanceAccording to statistical indicators, CMIN / DF = 2.124, RMSEA = .087 and the p value of the Chi-square is less than 5% significance level, the model proposed is accepted. Based on the reported NFI and CFI values ​​(.777 and .867), as well as the values of ​​RFI = .763, IFI = .868 and TLI = .859, it can be concluded that the model is appropriate for the sample data. The p value of all constructors is less than .05, except for trust in doctor - cognitive empathy and patient satisfaction. All the others paths are significant: the effect of communication on treatment compliance, mediated by trust in specialist and collaboration; the effect on communication on treatment compliance, mediated by affective empathy, trust in specialist and collaboration; the effect on communication on patient satisfaction, mediated by affective empathy and trust in doctor; the direct effect of communication on trust in doctor, as well as the mediated effect by affective empathy. Regarding the relationship with doctor during the COVID–19 pandemic, 33% of the study participants stated that the pandemic affected the relationship with doctor, and 44% discontinued contact with specialist and medical procedures between March and June 2020.Limitations, reasons for cautionOnly infertile, voluntary women participated in this study, which limits the generalizability to other populations. Because the data are cross-sectional and correlational, the direction of causation is not proven. Additional experimental research on larger populations is needed to examine the effects of communication on patient satisfaction and compliance.Wider implications of the findings: The study draws attention to the importance of basic concepts in the relationship of specialists with infertile patients. Thus, it is necessary for health care providers in assisted human reproduction to participate in programs for the continuous training of empathic communication skills, given the sensitivity of this diagnosis.Trial registration numberNot applicable