Defining clinical empathy: a grounded theory approach from the perspective of healthcare workers and patients in a multicultural setting
Objective To define clinical empathy from the perspective of healthcare workers and patients from a multicultural setting.Design Grounded theory approach using focus group discussions.Setting A health cluster in Singapore consisting of an acute hospital, a community hospital, ambulatory care teams,...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2021-09-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e045224.full |
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| author | Evelyn Lim Laurence Tan Sok Ying Liaw Tanya Tierney Mai Khanh Le Chou Chuen Yu Yun Ying Ho Daphne Lim Reuben Ng Colin Ngeow James Low |
| author_facet | Evelyn Lim Laurence Tan Sok Ying Liaw Tanya Tierney Mai Khanh Le Chou Chuen Yu Yun Ying Ho Daphne Lim Reuben Ng Colin Ngeow James Low |
| author_sort | Evelyn Lim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective To define clinical empathy from the perspective of healthcare workers and patients from a multicultural setting.Design Grounded theory approach using focus group discussions.Setting A health cluster in Singapore consisting of an acute hospital, a community hospital, ambulatory care teams, a medical school and a nursing school.Participants 69 participants including doctors, nurses, medical students, nursing students, patients and allied health workers.Main outcome measures A robust definition of clinical empathy.Results The construct of clinical empathy is consistent across doctors, nurses, students, allied health and students. Medical empathy consists of an inner sense of empathy (imaginative, affective and cognitive), empathy behaviour (genuine concern and empathic communication) and a sense of connection (trust and rapport). This construct of clinical empathy is similar to definitions by neuroscientists but challenges a common definition of clinical empathy as a cognitive process with emotional detachment.Conclusions This paper has defined clinical empathy as ‘a sense of connection between the healthcare worker and the patient as a result of perspective taking arising from imaginative, affective and cognitive processes, which are expressed through behaviours and good communication skills that convey genuine concern’. A clear and multidimensional definition of clinical empathy will improve future education and research efforts in the application and impact of clinical empathy. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-668f9bcccdbf4e5aa7ad4d6ebce68eff |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-668f9bcccdbf4e5aa7ad4d6ebce68eff2025-08-20T02:18:11ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552021-09-0111910.1136/bmjopen-2020-045224Defining clinical empathy: a grounded theory approach from the perspective of healthcare workers and patients in a multicultural settingEvelyn Lim0Laurence Tan1Sok Ying Liaw2Tanya Tierney3Mai Khanh Le4Chou Chuen Yu5Yun Ying Ho6Daphne Lim7Reuben Ng8Colin Ngeow9James Low10School of Health & Social Sciences, Nanyang Polytechnic, Singapore2 GeriCare@North, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, SingaporeAlice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, SingaporeLee Kong Chian School of Medicine, SingaporeGeriatric Education and Research Institute Ltd, SingaporeGeriatric Education and Research Institute Ltd, SingaporeLee Kong Chian School of Medicine, SingaporeSchool of Health & Social Sciences, Nanyang Polytechnic, SingaporeLee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, SingaporeTan Tock Seng Hospital, SingaporeDepartment of Geriatic Medicine, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, SingaporeObjective To define clinical empathy from the perspective of healthcare workers and patients from a multicultural setting.Design Grounded theory approach using focus group discussions.Setting A health cluster in Singapore consisting of an acute hospital, a community hospital, ambulatory care teams, a medical school and a nursing school.Participants 69 participants including doctors, nurses, medical students, nursing students, patients and allied health workers.Main outcome measures A robust definition of clinical empathy.Results The construct of clinical empathy is consistent across doctors, nurses, students, allied health and students. Medical empathy consists of an inner sense of empathy (imaginative, affective and cognitive), empathy behaviour (genuine concern and empathic communication) and a sense of connection (trust and rapport). This construct of clinical empathy is similar to definitions by neuroscientists but challenges a common definition of clinical empathy as a cognitive process with emotional detachment.Conclusions This paper has defined clinical empathy as ‘a sense of connection between the healthcare worker and the patient as a result of perspective taking arising from imaginative, affective and cognitive processes, which are expressed through behaviours and good communication skills that convey genuine concern’. A clear and multidimensional definition of clinical empathy will improve future education and research efforts in the application and impact of clinical empathy.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e045224.full |
| spellingShingle | Evelyn Lim Laurence Tan Sok Ying Liaw Tanya Tierney Mai Khanh Le Chou Chuen Yu Yun Ying Ho Daphne Lim Reuben Ng Colin Ngeow James Low Defining clinical empathy: a grounded theory approach from the perspective of healthcare workers and patients in a multicultural setting BMJ Open |
| title | Defining clinical empathy: a grounded theory approach from the perspective of healthcare workers and patients in a multicultural setting |
| title_full | Defining clinical empathy: a grounded theory approach from the perspective of healthcare workers and patients in a multicultural setting |
| title_fullStr | Defining clinical empathy: a grounded theory approach from the perspective of healthcare workers and patients in a multicultural setting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Defining clinical empathy: a grounded theory approach from the perspective of healthcare workers and patients in a multicultural setting |
| title_short | Defining clinical empathy: a grounded theory approach from the perspective of healthcare workers and patients in a multicultural setting |
| title_sort | defining clinical empathy a grounded theory approach from the perspective of healthcare workers and patients in a multicultural setting |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e045224.full |
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