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“Suiting Up” to Enhance Empathy Toward Aging: A Randomized Controlled Study

ABSTRACT: Background: Healthcare professionals who have a positive attitude and who are more empathetic toward older adults are in a better position to deliver quality healthcare. This study examines the impact of using an aging simulation suit on undergraduate pharmacy students' empathy levels. Methods: One hundred and twenty first-year students enrolled in the Bachelor of Pharmacy course were randomized to either a medication review polypharmacy workshop (control) or an immersive aging simulation suit and medication review polypharmacy workshop (intervention). Intervention participants donned the aging suit and performed a series of tasks, including walking up a flight of stairs and filling up a form to simulate the physical limitations experienced by an older adult. The workshop was delivered at week 10 of semester. Both groups also completed a medication review polypharmacy workshop at week 12 of semester. The primary outcome was a measurement of change on the Jefferson Empathy Scale-Healthcare Professional Questionnaire among both groups at week 12 of semester. Secondary outcomes include the longitudinal impact of intervention after 3 months of the workshop and perceptions on learning. Results: The use of a simulation suit did not increase participants' self-rated empathy compared to control. However, the suit enhanced the ability of participants to understand the physical limitations and visual issues associated with aging. Participants also felt that it enhanced their health advocacy, as it taught them the importance of listening, patience and respect for older adults. Conclusion: The use of an immersive aging suit can be a useful adjunctive tool to help enhance students' understanding of the physical limitations and visual limitations of aging. Further research is needed to understand how these limitations affect other healthcare students. Trial Registration:ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04133727.

SUBMITTER: Lee S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7477349 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Objective Empathy has deteriorated throughout clinical training and medical practice, and little is known about the effect of empathy training on the empathy level of healthcare providers. To address this gap, we assessed the effect of empathy training on the empathy level of healthcare providers in Ethiopia. Design A cluster randomized controlled trial study design was conducted from 20 December 2021 to 20 March 2022. The empathy training intervention was conducted for three consecutive days. Setting The study was conducted in five fistula treatment centers in Ethiopia. Participants The participants were all randomly selected healthcare providers. Main outcome measures Total mean score, percentage changes, and Cohen’s effect size were computed. A linear mixed effects model and independent t-test were used for data analysis. Results A majority of the study participants were nurses in the profession, married, and first-degree holders. There was no statistically significant difference in the baseline empathy score of the intervention arm across their socio-demographic features. At the baseline, the mean empathy scores of the control and intervention arms were 102.10 ± 15.38 and 101.13 ± 17.67, respectively. The effect of empathy training on the total mean score changes of empathy of the intervention arm compared to the control arm at each follow-up time had a statistically significant difference. After a week, a month, and three months of post-intervention, the total mean empathy scores between the intervention and control arms were as follows: (intervention 112.65 ± 18.99, control 102.85 ± 15.65, d = 0.55, p = 0.03); (intervention 109.01 ± 17.79, control 100.52 ± 12.57, d = 0.53, p = 0.034); and (intervention 106.28 ± 16.24, control 96.58 ± 14.69, d = 0.60, p = 0.016) with the overall percentage changes of 11, 8, and 5% from the baseline scores, respectively. Conclusion In this trial, the empathy training intervention was found to have more than a medium effect size. However, over the follow-up intervals, there was a decreasing trend in the total mean empathy scores of healthcare providers; suggesting that there should be continued empathy training and integration of it into educational and training curriculums to enhance and sustain the empathy of healthcare providers. Clinical Trial Registration: Pan African Clinical Trial Registry: http://www.edctp.org/panafrican-clinical-trials-registry or https://pactr.samrc.ac.za, PACTR202112564898934.

Project description:BackgroundAmong Chinese medical students, there is a high prevalence of mental health-related issues and low empathy. Effective strategies to improve this situation are lacking. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of the intervention courses designed to enhance the mental health and empathy of senior Chinese medical students.MethodsA total of 146 3rd - and 4th -year medical students were randomized to an intervention group (n = 74) and a control group (n = 72). A pilot study including 5 pre-clinical students and 5 interns was first carried out to determine the themes and content of the intervention courses. The designed courses were delivered in the intervention group once a month three times, while the control group had no specific intervention. Five self-assessment questionnaires, including the General Self-Efficacy (GSE) scale, Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 8 (SF-8), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Care Provider Student version (JSE-HPS), were completed by the students before and one month after the courses to evaluate their levels of self-efficacy (SE), quality of life (QoL), depression, burnout, and empathy, respectively. Qualitative data were collected via e-mail two years after the intervention.ResultsCompared to the control group, the intervention group showed significantly higher scores for empathy (111.0 [IQR 102.0, 118.0] vs. 106.0 [IQR 93.0, 111.5]; P = .01) and QoL (32.0 [IQR 28.0, 35.0] vs. 29.5 [IQR 26.0, 34.0]; P = .04). The rate of depression was significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group (13.5 % vs. 29.2 %; chi-square test, P = .02). However, no significant differences in self-efficacy (25.6 ± 4.8 vs. 24.3 ± 6.3; P = .16) or burnout (27.0 % vs. 34.7 %; Chi-square test, P = .31) were observed between the two groups.ConclusionsThe intervention courses had a positive impact on mental well-being and empathy in senior Chinese medical students, which might help provide novel information for their incorporation into the medical school curriculum.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02645643; Date of registration: 05/01/2016.

Project description:BackgroundPeople with intellectual disabilities (ID) have low levels of physical activity (PA) together with accelerated aging profiles. Adherence to PA interventions for persons with ID is low based on barriers such as motivation. The IDEA study aims to determine the effect of two types of exercise programs, continuous aerobic (CAEP) vs sprint interval training (SIT), designed for seniors with ID on health-related physical fitness, cardiovascular parameters, quality of life (QoL), and emotional and cognitive function.MethodsIn this trial, ninety seniors with ID between the ages of 40 and 75 yrs. from occupational health centers from the Autonomous Region of Catalonia (Spain) will be recruited. Participants will be randomly allocated to the CAEP, SIT, and control group. Both intervention groups will train 3 days/week, 1.5 h/day over 6 months. Outcome variables will be assessed at baseline, 6 months and 12 months. The outcome variables include weight, height, body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, balance, flexibility, cardiovascular parameters (blood pressure, pulse-wave velocity, pulse-wave analysis), QoL and cognitive function. The intervention effect will be determined with mixed models with repeated measures to assess changes in the outcome variables over time (baseline to month 12) and between study arms. Relationship between variables will be analyzed with appropriate regression analyses.DiscussionVarious studies reported on CAEP and SIT as exercise interventions for persons with ID with beneficial outcomes on body composition, fitness and blood pressure. To our knowledge, this is the first trial designed to analyse the positive changes on fitness, PA levels, cardiovascular, QoL and cognitive function promoted by CAEP training and SIT in seniors with ID. The findings of this study will assist in the development of more effective exercise interventions to ensure better compliance and adherence to exercise in seniors with ID.Trial registrationThe trial is registered at the ISRCTN registry. Registration number: ISRCTN43594228 . Registered 11 February 2019 - Retrospectively registered.

Project description:Knowledge about aging (KA) and empathy affect nursing students' attitudes toward older adults. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon from an integrated, person-centered perspective. The purposes of the present study were (1) to identify empathy profiles based on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) among Chinese nursing students and (2) to explore whether these latent empathy profiles moderate the association between KA and attitudes toward older people. A cross-sectional survey design was used, and a battery of questionnaires - including those on demographic information, the Chinese version of Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz (C-FAQ), the Chinese version of Kogan's Attitude Toward Older People Scale (C-KAOP), and the IRI - was filled in by 622 Chinese nursing students (M age 21.76; SD = 1.33). The mean total scores on KAOP and C-FAQ were 164.96 ± 18.32 and 10.436 ± 3.015, respectively, indicating relatively positive attitudes toward older people but low KA among Chinese nursing students. Latent profile analysis was used to identify a three-profile solution characterized by distinct levels of four dimensions of empathy, namely average empathy (AE, n = 399), high empathy (HE, n = 42), and low empathy (LE, n = 181). Subsequent linear regression analysis revealed that the LE rather than the HE profile predicted positive attitudes toward older adults. It is worth noting that the LE profile played a remarkable moderating role in associations between KA and negative attitudes toward older adults after controlling for covariant variables. Both the identification of distinct empathy profiles and the interplay between the LE profile and KA are of significance in reducing negative attitudes toward older adults among Chinese nursing students. Nursing educators should combine improving nursing students' levels of KA and fostering greater empathy to reduce negative attitudes toward older adults. Such training should give priority to nursing students with LE.

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“Suiting Up” to Enhance Empathy Toward Aging: A Randomized Controlled Study

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