Measuring Empathy in Dentists and Dental Specialists Using the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy – Health Professions Version

[摘要] In the health care setting, empathy can be defined as the ability to understand a patient’s experiences and feelings, as well as the ability to communicate this understanding. Empathy has been shown to play an important role in the dentist-patient relationship by improving treatment outcome and increasing patient satisfaction. Recently, a growing concern has developed over a potential decline in empathy among health care providers. PURPOSE: This cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the differences in empathy among dentists of different genders, ages, specialties and professional affiliations. METHODS: Three hundred forty dentists in western Pennsylvania completed the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Health Professions Version (JSPE – HP version). Independent t-tests and one-way analysis of variance were used to determine significance of associations between empathy and gender, age, specialty and professional affiliation. RESULTS: Empathy scores among female dentists were significantly higher than empathy scores among male dentists (p<0.0066). Empathy scores did not change significantly, however, with increasing age (p<0.9670). Significant differences were also not seen between dentists of 'patient- or people-oriented” and 'procedure- or technology-oriented” specialties (p<0.6298) or between members of the Dental Society of Western Pennsylvania (DSWP) and the Western Pennsylvania section of the American College of Dentists (ACD) (p<0.4602). CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that, in agreement with existing research, female dentists are more empathic than male dentists. There is no relationship between empathy and age, specialtyor membership in a professional association. The need for further research involving larger sample populations and multiple centers, and the need for methods to improve empathy are discussed.

[发布机构] the University of Pittsburgh