Our Patients Need Empathy Training across Healthcare Professions.

Vulnerable populations are those who experience disparity at a disproportionate rate. For this article, specific vulnerable populations of interest include people who experience intellectual or developmental disorders, mental illness, or substance misuse. Vulnerable populations are some of the most stigmatized populations in our society. Research shows that vulnerable populations receive less empathic care than general health care populations, resulting in reduced quality of care and disparities in health outcomes. Empathy, a necessary health care competency, is associated with improved patient outcomes, enhanced job satisfaction, and increased retention and resilience across health care professions. However, there is no current standard for how empathy is taught, assessed, or sustained. Even when empathy education is implemented in healthcare professions curricula, research has demonstrated that it appears to erode with experience and time. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequities in health care systems, with consequences for both patients and providers. There is an urgent need to develop efficacious training in empathy across health care professions to foster and sustain a robust workforce and improve health care experiences and outcomes.

Rapid Scoping Review: Empathy in Health Sciences Curriculum.

Empathy, the process of coming to know, understand, and care for another person, is a skill that can be learned; however, there is not a shared definition of empathy or understanding of how to operationalize empathy into practice. Healthcare worker empathy has been shown to have a beneficial effect on both patient health outcomes and the emotional wellness of healthcare workers. Empathic care is associated with more efficient, cost-effective, improved healthcare, and increased provider trust. The purpose of this rapid scoping review is to identify, compare, and contrast empathy training offered to select healthcare professional students (e.g., nurses, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists) as part of the general curriculum or as an elective. We utilized a rapid scoping review approach to identify potentially relevant peer-reviewed articles and studies for inclusion. Six electronic databases were searched, including: MEDLINE; EMBASE; PUBMed; CINAHL; EBSCOHOST; and ERIC, covering the past 10 years. A total of 4977 citations, 3480 abstracts, and 428 papers were screened. Fifty studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Of those, 21 primarily non-randomized experimental studies published between 2012 and 2021 were included in the final review. Over 80 percent of the training took place in the classroom setting and utilized active learning strategies. There is little consensus on how to best train future healthcare providers to provide empathic care to patients.

Feasibility of implementing project Buhay: the first colorectal cancer screening promotion programme for Filipinos in Alaska.

This study assessed the feasibility of implementing Project Buhay (PB), the first colorectal cancer (CRC) screening promotion programme for Filipinos in Alaska and developed through university-community partnership. PB involved piloting two interventions: a group health education intervention and (GHEI) a video-based intervention (VBI) showing a mini-documentary of a Filipina from Alaska with CRC. Participants included self-identified Filipinos, aged 50 to 75 years who were not current in CRC screening. Data collected include recruitment, reach, implementation process, short-term outcomes, and implementation barriers. Results show that PB reached a total of three Alaskan communities and exposed almost 50 participants. GHEI and VBI participants were followed-up at three-month post-intervention, with 80% reporting their intention to get CRC screening within a year. The main barrier in implementing PB was its lack of funding and time, which lessened effectiveness and reduced community and participant reach. However, PB team's ability to make adjustments in implementation and leverage existing university and community assets led to the successful implementation of theinterventions. At the project's conclusion, there were positive implications for both the Filipino community in Alaska and project team, affirming the importance of university-community partnership.

The Relationship Between Mixed Race/Ethnicity, Developmental Assets, and Mental Health Among Youth.

This study assessed whether high school youth with mixed race/ethnicity are at greater risk for poor mental health conditions compared to their single race/ethnic counterparts and whether this mental health risk can be mitigated by youth developmental assets regardless of one's race/ethnicity. Methods involved secondary data analysis of the 2009-2013 Youth Risk Behavioral Survey-Anchorage, Alaska subsample. Difference in rates of mental health conditions and mean number of developmental assets (protective factors) were assessed among three racial/ethnic groups. Logistic regression models tested whether race/ethnicity has an independent association with mental health conditions and whether there is an interaction effect between race/ethnicity and protective factors. Results show that, compared to white students, mixed race/ethnic students have significantly higher rates of poor mental health condition and significantly fewer protective factors. A significant interaction effect between race/ethnicity and protective factors was also found, showing decreasing likelihood of poor mental health condition with increasing number of protective factors among all racial/ethnic groups. However, this effect was more pronounced among white students compared to both mixed and single race/ethnicity minority students. Study findings indicate that youth of mixed race/ethnicity are more likely to be at risk for poor mental health outcomes, yet less likely to mitigate this risk even with similar number of external developmental assets as their single race/ethnic counterparts. More research is needed to further understand the differential effect of certain developmental assets among different racial/ethnic groups.