Medical Students’ Empathy Towards the Patient; Does Their Perceived Social Support Play a Role? A Cross-sectional Study
| Author | Malihe Farid | en |
| Author | Sahar Ghaderi | en |
| Issued Date | 2025-11-30 | en |
| Abstract | Background: The correlation between doctors and patients is greatly influenced by empathy. Understanding the patient’s emotions can aid physicians in responding appropriately. Objectives: The present study aimed to determine the correlation between empathy with the patient and the perceived social support of medical students. Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023, involving 260 medical students at Alborz University of Medical Sciences. The study utilized the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professions Student (JSE-HPS), and a socio-demographic information checklist. Statistical analyses were performed using chi-square, Fisher’s exact test, t-test, Mann-Whitney, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kruskal-Wallis test, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression, all conducted using SPSS v23 software at a significance level of less than 0.05. Results: The students’ overall empathy score was 108.53 (16.43). Severe perceived social support resulted in a higher empathy score than moderate and mild perceived social support (P = 0.001). According to the linear regression test, medical students’ empathy was significantly determined by their level of social support (β = 0.161, P = 0.01) and gender (β = 0.146, P = 0.02). Conclusions: Considering the significant correlation between empathy with patients and perceived social support among medical students, implementing interventions to enhance social support among them, especially among boys, seems necessary. | en |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5812/semj-158227 | en |
| Keyword | Empathy | en |
| Keyword | Social Support | en |
| Keyword | Students | en |
| Keyword | Medical | en |
| Publisher | Brieflands | en |
| Title | Medical Students’ Empathy Towards the Patient; Does Their Perceived Social Support Play a Role? A Cross-sectional Study | en |
| Type | Research Article | en |
Files
Original bundle
1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
- Name:
- semj-26-11-158227-publish-pdf.pdf
- Size:
- 188.97 KB
- Format:
- Adobe Portable Document Format
- Description:
- Article/s PDF