Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 22, 2026

Observational Fear as a Model of Affective Empathy in Mice
Published on: November 22, 2024
Compassionomics: Hypothesis and experimental approach
Stephen Trzeciak1, Brian W Roberts1, Anthony J Mazzarelli1
1Cooper University Health Care and Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Camden, NJ, USA.
Abstract:
Recent reports indicate that healthcare is experiencing a compassion crisis - an absence of (or inconsistency in) compassionate patient care. It is currently unclear if, or to what extent, this exerts significant effects on health and healthcare. Experimental data are few, and this represents a critical knowledge gap for all health sciences. We hypothesize that compassionate care is beneficial for patients (better outcomes), healthcare systems and payers (lower costs), and healthcare providers (lower burnout). Compassionomics is the branch of knowledge and scientific study of the effects of compassionate healthcare, and herein we describe a framework for hypothesis testing. If the hypotheses are confirmed, compassionate healthcare can be established in the domain of evidence-based medicine.
Related Concept Videos
Empathy
The Scientific Method
Egoism and Altruism
Altruism
Observational Studies
There are three types of observational studies – Prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional.
Prospective Study
Prospective studies, also known as longitudinal or cohort studies, are carried out by collecting future data from groups sharing similar characteristics. One...
The Stanford Prison Experiment

