Patient Perceptions of Expression of Empathy From Chinese Medicine Clinicians in a Chinese Population

Abstract

This study aims to examine the level of empathy perceived by patients receiving care from herbalists, acupuncturists and massage therapists and to investigate the factors that influence levels of perceived empathy.Participants who were 18 years or above; able to provide written informed consent; and able to read and write in Chinese without assistance were included. A total of 514 participants sampled from charity and semipublic Chinese medicine (CM) clinics in Hong Kong were recruited to assess levels of empathy perceived during various length of consultations (1–20 minutes) by the Chinese Consultation and Relational Empathy Measure (Chinese CARE). Multiple linear regressions were conducted to evaluate the associations between perceived levels of empathy and the type of CM practitioner consulted and participants’ demographic and health characteristics.The average Chinese CARE total score for participants consulting CM practitioners was 34.3 of a maximum of 50. After adjusting for participants’ health and demographic characteristics, acupuncturists received the highest ratings (P < 0.001), whereas massage therapists (P < 0.001) scored the lowest of the 3 modalities. Participants receiving social benefits (P = 0.013), those with longer waiting times (P = 0.002), and those with shorter consultation durations (P = 0.020) scored significantly lower on the Chinese CARE.The level of empathy perceived by participants using CM was similar to results found for those in conventional care, in contrast to findings in other geographical settings, where a high level of perceived empathy was a major motivator for participants to choose complementary medicine.

The importance of patient's experience and its impact on healthcare system for people received Chinese medicine

“…A Swiss study in TCM provided empirical evidence that better patient-physician communication is associated with better patient experiences, and that more positive patient-physician interactions are associated with longer durations of consultation [21]. Patients' expectations with TCM did not appear to be so different from western medicine (all focus on accessibilities, interpersonal communication, and reduced barriers), which is in line with the findings of previous studies [33,34]. However, we can not ignore the predominant factor (such as age, and sex) and patients seeking TCM as a form of complementary and alternative medicine in this study.…”