Background: Practitioners who deliver enhanced empa- thy may improve patient satisfaction with care. Patient satisfaction is associated with positive patient outcomes ranging from medication adherence to survival. Purpose: To evaluate the... more
Background: Practitioners who deliver enhanced empa- thy may improve patient satisfaction with care. Patient satisfaction is associated with positive patient outcomes ranging from medication adherence to survival.
Purpose: To evaluate the effect of health care practi- tioner empathy on patient satisfaction, using a system- atic review of randomized trials.
Data Sources: Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Scopus to 23 October 2023.
Study Selection: Randomized trials published in any language that evaluated the effect of empathy on improving patient satisfaction as measured on a validated patient satisfaction scale.
Data Extraction: Data extraction, risk-of-bias assess- ments, and strength-of-evidence assessments were done by 2 independent reviewers. Disagreements were resolved through consensus.
Data Synthesis: Fourteen eligible randomized trials (80 practitioners; 1986 patients) were included in the analysis. Five studies had high risk of bias, and 9 had some concerns about bias. The trials were heterogene- ous in terms of geographic locations (North America,Europe, Asia, and Africa), settings (hospital and pri- mary care), practitioner types (family and hospital physicians, anesthesiologists, nurses, psychologists, and caregivers), and type of randomization (individual patient or clustered by practitioner). Although all trials sug- gested a positive change in patient satisfaction, inad- equate reporting hindered the ability to draw definitive conclusions about the overall effect size.
Limitations: Heterogeneity in the way that empathy was delivered and patient satisfaction was measured and incomplete reporting leading to concerns about the certainty of the underpinning evidence.
Conclusion: Various empathy interventions have been studied to improve patient satisfaction. Development, testing, and reporting of high-quality studies within well-defined contexts is needed to optimize empathy interventions that increase patient satisfaction.
Primary Funding Source: Stoneygate Trust. (PROSPERO: CRD42023412981)
Purpose: To evaluate the effect of health care practi- tioner empathy on patient satisfaction, using a system- atic review of randomized trials.
Data Sources: Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Scopus to 23 October 2023.
Study Selection: Randomized trials published in any language that evaluated the effect of empathy on improving patient satisfaction as measured on a validated patient satisfaction scale.
Data Extraction: Data extraction, risk-of-bias assess- ments, and strength-of-evidence assessments were done by 2 independent reviewers. Disagreements were resolved through consensus.
Data Synthesis: Fourteen eligible randomized trials (80 practitioners; 1986 patients) were included in the analysis. Five studies had high risk of bias, and 9 had some concerns about bias. The trials were heterogene- ous in terms of geographic locations (North America,Europe, Asia, and Africa), settings (hospital and pri- mary care), practitioner types (family and hospital physicians, anesthesiologists, nurses, psychologists, and caregivers), and type of randomization (individual patient or clustered by practitioner). Although all trials sug- gested a positive change in patient satisfaction, inad- equate reporting hindered the ability to draw definitive conclusions about the overall effect size.
Limitations: Heterogeneity in the way that empathy was delivered and patient satisfaction was measured and incomplete reporting leading to concerns about the certainty of the underpinning evidence.
Conclusion: Various empathy interventions have been studied to improve patient satisfaction. Development, testing, and reporting of high-quality studies within well-defined contexts is needed to optimize empathy interventions that increase patient satisfaction.
Primary Funding Source: Stoneygate Trust. (PROSPERO: CRD42023412981)
