Empathy levels among health professional students: a cross-sectional study at two universities in Australia

Williams, Brett; Brown, Ted; McKenna, Lisa; Boyle, MJ; Palermo, Claire; Nestel, Debra; Brightwell, Richard; McCall, Louise; Russo,

doi:10.2147/amep.s57569

Cited by 83 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 41 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This is in conformity with the findings from various studies across the globe. 10,[12][13][14][15][16] Similar observation was also noted among female physicians in a study from Italy. 17 Likewise, several Indian studies have also reported higher empathy level among female medical students.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Assessing empathy among undergraduate medical students: a cross sectional analysis using the Jefferson scale in a medical school in Coastal Karnataka

Nair¹,

Shetty²,

Guha³

et al. 2018

Int J Community Med Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Empathy has been shown to improve the physician’s diagnostic skills as well as enhance the quality of communication with the patient. Empathy being an integral component of patient care, this study was designed to measure empathy levels among undergraduate medical students and to identify the factors associated with it in this population. Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out among 437 medical students including interns on the rolls of a medical school in coastal Karnataka. The students were administered a psychometrically validated Jefferson Scale of Empathy–Student Version (JSE-S) questionnaire, to measure various components of empathy. Responses were indicated on a seven point Likert scale and total scores ranged from 20–140, with higher values indicating higher levels of empathy. Results: Mean empathy score among the participants was 100.5±14.8, with significantly higher score being reported by females than males [101.9 vs. 97.3, p=0.002] and by first year students compared to third year students [105.2 vs. 95.3, p<0.01]. Empathy scores showed a declining trend as the students progressed through the medical school (p=0.002). Conclusions: Although the study showed higher empathy level among female medical students, there appeared a declining score among both genders as the years of study progressed with a marginal increase during the internship phase. This necessitates the need for incorporating caregiving as an integral part of the medical school curriculum by stressing on doctor- patient communication skills, which in turn could aid medical students become compassionate physicians.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Assessing empathy among undergraduate medical students: a cross sectional analysis using the Jefferson scale in a medical school in Coastal Karnataka

Nair¹,

Shetty²,

Guha³

et al. 2018

Int J Community Med Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In a study conducted by Jabarifar et al, no significant increase or decrease was observed in the level of empathy with higher academic year in dentistry students [14]. Williams et al study showed no significant difference in the level of empathy among different year students of medical sciences including nursing, midwifery, nutrition, and pharmacy [15]. Yet, a study conducted by Shahab et al showed a significant correlation between academic year and empathy in dentistry students, and students in higher years had higher empathy scores [16].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Empathy with Patients Compared between First and Final Year Nursing Students

Saeidi

Reza-Masouleh

Chehrzad

et al. 2017

J Holist Nurs Midwifery

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: Patient-nurse relationship has been recognized as the key factor in nursing practice. Considering the importance of professional relationship in nursing discipline, and especially empathy and its professional role, the need to address this phenomenon in nursing education in Iran is profoundly felt. Objective: The present study was conducted with the aim to compare level of empathy with patients and related factors between first-and final-year nursing students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods:The present descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 180 nursing students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences (ShahidBeheshti School of Nursing and Midwifery in Rash and Langrood) selected by census from the academic year 2014-15. Data collection tool was a two-part questionnaire consisting of socio demographic data details and Jefferson Scale of Empathy containing 20 items, scored according to Likert scale from strongly agree (7 points) to strongly disagree (1 point), in which students chose items based on the level their agreement. Students' mean empathy score was calculated from maximum seven points (higher empathy) and minimum one point (lower empathy). In total, the maximum score for the 20 items was 140 points and minimum 20 points. Data thus collected were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistical tests (independent t, Pearson's correlation coefficient and logistic regression). Results: Students' mean age was 22.21±2.94 years, and the majority were female (63.3%). No significant difference was observed between empathy among first-year students (5.03±0.041) and final-year students (4.94±0.7) (P<0.28). Students' empathy was found significantly related to interest in nursing discipline (P<0.001), student work (P<0.012), and mother's education below diploma (P<0.032). Among study variables, interest in nursing discipline (P<0.001), father's education (P<0.009), and history of hospitalization (P<0.046) were factors predicting level of empathy, such that, students who were interested in nursing discipline compared to those that were not had higher levels of empathy (β=0.392). Also, students with history of hospitalization had a higher level of empathy (β=0.2). Regression test results showed that level of empathy diminished with a higher level of father's education (β=-0.142). Conclusion:The results obtained showed no significant difference between first-and final-year students in terms of empathy score. Since reinforcing predicting factors leads to greater student empathy with patients, empathy skills education in the course of study and generating interest among students appears to increase their sense of empathy.

show abstract

“…In Australia 28 , after assessing self-reported empathy levels in students from different health careers using the same scale, it was also found that the average empathy level in women was significantly higher than the average in men and technical paramedics had the lowest reported levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Empathetic Orientation in Dentistry students from Latin America. Literature review.

Vera¹

2014

Joralres

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Empathy, defined as 'the capacity to relate to someone else's perspective or mental state', has a strong impact on the physician-patient relationship and has the potential to improve the quality of health care. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) measures empathy in terms of quantity. It was created to assist medical students, physicians, and people related to health care in general and it has been validated into Spanish showing adequate psychometric properties. The concern for empathy in dentistry students is related to the need for training not only technically, but also socially skilled professionals, since social abilities have a strong impact on performance as well as in the patient's appreciation and satisfaction. The goal of this report is to show all the studies using the JSE scale for measuring empathy in dentistry students from Latin America. The reviewed studies show the empathy levels vary in Latin-American dentistry students when comparing gender and class year variables. Also, there is a tendency to find higher empathy levels when it comes to women's performance and that of those soon to be graduate. However, the criteria did not account for more than 20% of the variance of empathy in these studies. Therefore, it would be necessary to keep researching in this field, taking different predictor variables into consideration in order to understand what factors are associated with the presence and intensity of empathy, and their impact in clinical practice. Keywords: Empathy, students, dentistry.Orientación empática en estudiantes de odontología de Latinoamérica. Revisión de la literatura.Resumen: La empatía, definida como la "Identificación mental y afectiva de un sujeto con el estado de ánimo de otro" tiene un fuerte impacto en la relación médico-paciente y tiene el potencial de mejorar la calidad de la atención en salud. La Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE), es una escala que mide cuantitativamente la empatía. Fue creada para estudiantes de medicina, médicos y estudiantes y trabajadores de otras carreras de la salud y fue validada al idioma castellano demostrando propiedades psicométricas adecuadas. La preocupación por la empatía en los estudiantes de odontología se relaciona con la necesidad de formar profesionales competentes, no sólo en el aspecto técnico, sino también en las habilidades sociales, las que tienen un gran impacto en el rendimiento, así como en la apreciación y satisfacción del paciente. El objetivo de la presente revisión es presentar todos los estudios en que se ha aplicado la escala JSE en estudiantes de odontología de Latinoamérica. Según lo encontrado, la empatía presenta un comportamiento variable en los estudiantes de odontología latinoamericanos, al comparar variables sexo y año de la carrera, existiendo una tendencia a mostrar mayores niveles de empatía en el sexo femenino y en los cursos superiores, sin embargo, en ninguno de los estudios estas variables explicaron más allá del 20% de la varianza de la empatía. Por lo mismo, resulta necesario seguir investigando s...

show abstract

Empathy levels among health professional students: a cross-sectional study at two universities in Australia

Cited by 83 publications

References 41 publications

Assessing empathy among undergraduate medical students: a cross sectional analysis using the Jefferson scale in a medical school in Coastal Karnataka

Assessing empathy among undergraduate medical students: a cross sectional analysis using the Jefferson scale in a medical school in Coastal Karnataka

Empathy with Patients Compared between First and Final Year Nursing Students

Empathetic Orientation in Dentistry students from Latin America. Literature review.

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About