Physician Empathy in Doctor-Patient Communication: A Systematic Review.
Health Commun
; 39(5): 1027-1037, 2024 May.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37062918
ABSTRACT
Physician empathy is at the heart of doctor-patient communication and significantly influences patient outcomes. However, the research on how physicians express their empathy and how physician empathy affects patient outcomes and doctor-patient communication has not been well summarized in the latest literature. Thus, we conducted a systematic review to synthesize existing studies on physician empathy and its value to patient outcomes and doctor-patient communication. The systematic review consisted of studies published in English peer-reviewed journals between January 2017 and October 2021. Following the PRISMA procedure, a total of 3055 articles were retrieved, and 11 articles were retained. The thematic analysis revealed three emergent themes physicians' empathic expressions; patient outcomes (patient functional status, patient safety, and patient satisfaction); and empathy enhancing doctor-patient communication. This study highlighted the different ways empathy may be expressed by physicians and its positive effects on patient outcomes and doctor- patient communication. This study also suggested the under-researched areas that can be expanded in the future.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Médicos
/
Empatia
Tipo de estudo:
Systematic_reviews
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article