Factors associated with the level of empathy towards the patient in medical students, Peru, 2018

Authors

  • Fred Atahuaman-Arroyo Universidad Nacional “Hermilio Valdizán”, Facultad de Medicina. Huánuco. Sociedad Cientifica de Estudiantes de Medicina (Sociem-Hco). Huánuco. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0848-1537
  • David Mauro Ramirez-Espinoza Universidad Nacional “Hermilio Valdizán”, Facultad de Medicina. Huánuco. Sociedad Cientifica de Estudiantes de Medicina (Sociem-Hco). Huánuco. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6303-1889
  • Edinho Segama-Fabian Universidad Nacional “Hermilio Valdizán”, Facultad de Medicina. Huánuco. Hospital II EsSalud – Huánuco. Huánuco. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2925-8569
  • Bernardo Dámaso-Mata Universidad Nacional “Hermilio Valdizán”, Facultad de Medicina. Huánuco. Hospital II EsSalud – Huánuco. Huánuco. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6268-1644
  • Vicky Panduro-Correa Universidad Nacional “Hermilio Valdizán”, Facultad de Medicina. Huánuco. Hospital Regional “Hermilio Valdizán Medrano”. Huánuco. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2445-4854
  • Kovy Arteaga-Livias Universidad Nacional “Hermilio Valdizán”, Facultad de Medicina. Huánuco. Hospital II EsSalud – Huánuco. Huánuco. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0182-703X

Keywords:

Empathy, doctor-patient relationship, medical empathy, family functionality.

Abstract

Introduction: Empathy is the adequate understanding towards the patient; it is considered the central axis of the doctor-patient relationship and is a vital component for high-quality health care.

Objective: To determine the levels of empathy towards the patient and their association with family functionality, stress, academic performance and sociodemographic and academic factors of medical students.

Material and Methods: An observational, descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. The study population included 130 medical students (between 3rd-year and 6-th year) who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The independent variables were family functionality, stress and academic performance. A questionnaire and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy Version S were applied. For the analysis, the Shapiro-Wilk test was used for testing the assumption of normality, the Student t Test and Anova test were used to establish the relationship between variables. Statistical significance of p <0.05 was considered.

Results: The average global empathy was 106.08 ± 18.29 points. Statistically significant differences were found between global empathy and sex (p = 0.03), year of studies (p = 0.00), and family functionality (p = 0.04).

Conclusions: The level of family functioning is associated with empathy.  Moreover, it was also found that women were more empathic than men and higher academic years were associated with a lower level of empathy towards the patient.

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Published

2020-05-01

How to Cite

1.
Atahuaman-Arroyo F, Ramirez-Espinoza DM, Segama-Fabian E, Dámaso-Mata B, Panduro-Correa V, Arteaga-Livias K. Factors associated with the level of empathy towards the patient in medical students, Peru, 2018. Rev haban cienc méd [Internet]. 2020 May 1 [cited 2025 Jul. 1];19(2):e2673. Available from: https://revhabanera.sld.cu/index.php/rhab/article/view/2673

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 2: March-April 2020 (Issue in Progress)

Section

Social Sciences

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