Tag: clinical empathy

BMJ Open

Racial and socioeconomic disparities in patient experience of clinician empathy: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Clinician empathy is a vital component of high-quality healthcare. Healthcare disparities may reflect a societal lack of empathy for disadvantaged persons in general, and recent research suggests that socioeconomic disparities exist in patient satisfaction with clinicians. However, it is currently unclear if there are disparities in patient experience of empathy from clinicians. The objective of this article is to systematically analyse the scientific literature to test the hypothesis that racial and socioeconomic status (SES) disparities exist in patient-reported experience of clinician empathy. 

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Medical Education

Development in Danish medical students’ empathy: study protocol of a cross-sectional and longitudinal mixed-methods study

Clinical empathy has been associated with positive outcomes for both physicians and patients such as: more accurate diagnosis and treatment, increased patient satisfaction and compliance, and lower levels of burnout and stress among physicians. International studies show mixed results regarding the development of empathy among future physicians associating medical education with decline, stability or increase in empathy levels. These mixed results are due to several study limitations. In Denmark, no investigation of Danish medical students’ empathy trajectory has yet been conducted wherefore such a study is needed that optimizes the study design of earlier studies.

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