Patient-perceived empathy in osteopathic practice and effects on pain outcomes
Item
- Title
- Patient-perceived empathy in osteopathic practice and effects on pain outcomes
- Author(s)
- Bull, Nathan
- Abstract
- ObjectiveThe aims of this study were to understand the correlations between patient perceived practitioner empathy and changes in patient pain. The affects of gender differences and duration of complaint were also investigated. MethodsThe study was conducted at the British College of Osteopathic Medicine Clinic where private patients were recruited. Patients rated their perception of their practitioners empathy following consultation using the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) Measure. Pain was measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Chi-squared tests were used to investigate correlations between patient perceived empathy and gender differences and pain change. Results58 patients completed the questionnaire. 40 (69%) could be used to investigate gender on empathy and 18 (31%) could be used to investigate empathy and pain. No statistical significance was found between empathy scores and change in pain rating. This was also true when dividing patient complaint duration into subacute and chronic. A tendency existed for female patients to score female practitioners with a lower empathy score however this was not statistically significant. ConclusionsNo substantial conclusions can made from the current study largely due to the inadequate cohort size. Patients who experienced a greater empathetic consult seemed more likely to have improvements in pain rating. Gender could also be a contributing factor to empathy perception. To confirm these theories a larger cohort with more health outcome measures would be warranted. Practical ImplicationsOverall practitioners were rated highly empathetic but need to allocate more time to discussing a ‘plan of action’ with the patient.
- presented at
- British College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Date Accepted
- 2016
- Date Submitted
- 12.11.2018 18:58:31
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Number of pages
- 23
- Submitted by:
- 4457
- Pub-Identifier
- 16268
- Inst-Identifier
- 1076
- Keywords
- Complaint duration, Empathy, Gender, Osteopathy, Pain
- Recommended
- 0
- Item sets
- Thesis
Bull, Nathan, “Patient-perceived empathy in osteopathic practice and effects on pain outcomes”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 3, 2024, https://www.osteopathicresearch.com/s/orw/item/2076