Curricula and methods for physician compassion training: protocol for a systematic review

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Healthcare Professionalism
• Patient-Centered Care

Background:

• Physician compassion is linked to better patient outcomes.
• A "compassion crisis" exists in healthcare, with missed opportunities for compassionate care.
• Existing compassion training interventions lack clarity on specific skills and effective delivery methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review global literature on compassion training for physicians.
• To identify specific skills and behaviors for compassion training curricula.
• To determine the most effective training methods for improving compassionate patient care.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative systematic review of studies on physician compassion training.
• Comprehensive searches of CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases.
• Inclusion of 'references of references', citation tracking, and expert consultation.
• Independent review by two investigators, data extraction using standardized forms, and descriptive tables.
• Meta-analysis for quantitative data analysis where appropriate.

Main Results:

• (Pending full review) This section will detail the identified skills, behaviors, and training methodologies.
• (Pending full review) Quantitative data will be analyzed to assess the effectiveness of interventions.

Conclusions:

• Findings will elucidate essential components for compassion training curricula.
• Results will guide the development of effective strategies to enhance physician compassion.
• This research aims to address the healthcare compassion crisis by improving physician training.