A systematic review of tests of empathy in medicine
Open Access
- 25 July 2007
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in BMC Medical Education
- Vol. 7 (1), 24-8
- https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-7-24
Abstract
Background Empathy is frequently cited as an important attribute in physicians and some groups have expressed a desire to measure empathy either at selection for medical school or during medical (or postgraduate) training. In order to do this, a reliable and valid test of empathy is required. The purpose of this systematic review is to determine the reliability and validity of existing tests for the assessment of medical empathy. Methods A systematic review of research papers relating to the reliability and validity of tests of empathy in medical students and doctors. Journal databases (Medline, EMBASE, and PsycINFO) were searched for English-language articles relating to the assessment of empathy and related constructs in applicants to medical school, medical students, and doctors. Results From 1147 citations, we identified 50 relevant papers describing 36 different instruments of empathy measurement. As some papers assessed more than one instrument, there were 59 instrument assessments. 20 of these involved only medical students, 30 involved only practising clinicians, and three involved only medical school applicants. Four assessments involved both medical students and practising clinicians, and two studies involved both medical school applicants and students. Eight instruments demonstrated evidence of reliability, internal consistency, and validity. Of these, six were self-rated measures, one was a patient-rated measure, and one was an observer-rated measure. Conclusion A number of empathy measures available have been psychometrically assessed for research use among medical students and practising medical doctors. No empathy measures were found with sufficient evidence of predictive validity for use as selection measures for medical school. However, measures with a sufficient evidential base to support their use as tools for investigating the role of empathy in medical training and clinical care are available.Keywords
This publication has 63 references indexed in Scilit:
- Enhancing parent–provider communication in ambulatory pediatric practicePatient Education and Counseling, 2006
- Association of Perceived Medical Errors With Resident Distress and EmpathyJama-Journal Of The American Medical Association, 2006
- Ärztliche Empathie, Patienten-"Enablement" und Outcome bei Patienten des Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital: eine retropsektive und prospektive UntersuchungWiener Medizinische Wochenschrift, 2005
- Relationships between scores of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)Medical Teacher, 2005
- A Pilot Prospective Study on the Consultation and Relational Empathy, Patient Enablement, and Health Changes over 12 Months in Patients Going to the Glasgow Homoeopathic HospitalThe Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2005
- Emotion language in primary care encounters: reliability and validity of an emotion word count coding systemPatient Education and Counseling, 2005
- Using a standardised patient assessment to measure professional attributesMedical Education, 2005
- Efficacy of a Cancer Research UK communication skills training model for oncologists: a randomised controlled trialThe Lancet, 2002
- The Affect Reading Scale: a method of measuring prerequisites for empathyScandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 1996
- A controlled experiment in teaching students to respond to patientsʼ emotional concernsAcademic Medicine, 1987