Can Clinician Empathy Affect Chronic Pain?
A clinician's empathy during a clinic encounter with a person with chronic pain can have a statistically significant impact on outcomes, a new study found.
"Although there is no agreement on how to define or study empathy, empathic opportunities arising during medical encounters may be missed, thereby posing a threat to the patient-physician relationship."
The empathy in chronic pain study enrolled participants from the Pain Registry for Epidemiological, Clinical, and Interventional Studies and Innovation national research registry.
Participants' perception of physician empathy was assessed using the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure
The Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure assesses the degree to which the patient experiences all of the above.
Average pain was scored on a 0 to 10 scale during the week before a clinic appointment.
Outcomes of pain and quality of life were assessed using the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire and a pain-specific health related quality of life instrument.
All outcome measures including levels of pain, back related disability, and functioning were inversely proportional to the perceived level of physician empathy—ie, more empathy perceived, better report of status (P <.001 for all)
Participants with chronic pain said the empathy displayed by the physician had a greater impact on them than nondrug treatments, surgery, or even use of opioids.
Current opioid use and lumbar surgery were both linked to greater back-related disability.
Can empathy be taught to clinicians? It's a matter of debate.
Clinicians who treat people with chronic lower back pain, the study findings suggest, need to be aware that beyond the treatments they prescribe, their one-on-one interactions with these patients can have a significant impact on overall outcomes including pain, functioning, and QoL
A new study of individuals with chronic lower back pain examined whether the perception of a clinician's level of empathy would be correlated with the amount of pain, disability, and impairment in function they experience.
Typically studies of physician empathy rely on observational research in a clinic setting and involve physician self assessed empathy or patient perceived empathy. The current study used the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure, recognized as the "primary patient rating instrument for physician empathy," based on demonstrated reliability and internal validity and consistency.
The slide show here presents the study findings - click through to find out how the CARE measure performed.
