Levels of Empathy in Students and Professors with Patients in a Faculty of Dentistry
Journal
Behavioral Sciences
ISSN
2076-328X
Date Issued
2024
Author(s)
Víctor P. Díaz-Narváez
Joyce Huberman-Casas
Jorge Andrés Nakouzi-Momares
Chris Alarcón-Ureta
Patricio Alberto Jaramillo-Cavieres
Maricarmen Espinoza-Retamal
Blanca Patricia Klahn-Acuña
Leonardo Epuyao-González
Gabriela Leiton Carvajal
Mariela Padilla
Lindsay W. Vilca
Alejandro Reyes-Reyes
Type
journal-article
Abstract
<jats:p>Background: Empathy is an attribute that plays an essential role in the dentist–patient therapeutic relationship, clinical care, and treatment adherence, along with providing other benefits. The main objective of this research was to establish the validity, reliability, and invariance of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy and then characterize the empathy levels of students and teachers at a dental school. Materials and Methods: An observational and cross-sectional study analyzed a sample of undergraduate students and professors from the Universidad Andrés Bello Faculty of Dentistry (Chile) (n = 1727 and n = 267, respectively). The Empathy Scale for Health Professionals (HP) and the same scale for students (HPS) were applied. Results: The Jefferson Empathy Scale presents adequate psychometric properties. The empathy measure has adequate reliability and construct validity, confirming a fit of the three-factor empathy model to the data. The measurement is invariant within the university campus, the sex of the student, and between teacher and student. Teachers present greater empathy than students except in the Perspective Adoption dimension. Conclusions: The Jefferson Empathy Scale is reliable, valid, and invariant among Chilean dental students and professors. Students do not differ from their professors in the cognitive component of empathy, but they present a lower score in the affective component and global empathy. It is inferred that students can develop the affective component of empathy in their interactions with their professors, increasing their overall empathy. Understanding and fostering empathy in dental students and professors can significantly improve patient care and treatment adherence and increase patient and dentist satisfaction.</jats:p>
Cite this document
Díaz-Narváez, V. P., Huberman-Casas, J., Nakouzi-Momares, J. A., Alarcón-Ureta, C., Jaramillo-Cavieres, P. A., Espinoza-Retamal, M., Klahn-Acuña, B. P., Epuyao-González, L., Leiton Carvajal, G., Padilla, M., Vilca, L. W., Reyes-Reyes, A., & Reyes-Reyes, F. (2024). Levels of empathy in students and professors with patients in a faculty of dentistry. Behavioral Sciences, 14(9), 817. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14090817
Subjects
dentistry
;
education
;
professor
;
undergraduate
;
empathy