Cultivating cultural empathy among diabetes educators: A pre-post evaluation of a digital story intervention

Background: Indigenous Australians are disproportionately affected by diabetes, with a diagnosis rate nearly four times higher than people from a non-Indigenous background. This health disparity highlights the urgent need for healthcare providers to develop cultural empathy - a critical competency for delivering culturally safe and person-centered care. Cultural empathy is essential for building trust and effective communication in diabetes education and management within Indigenous people. However, there is a significant gap in targeted interventions to enhance this skill among healthcare providers.Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a digital storytelling intervention for enhancing cultural empathy levels of postgraduate diabetes education students.Design: This study has a pre-post survey design to measure changes in participants' cultural empathy levels after exposure to a digital story.Methods: Students enrolled in a postgraduate diabetes education course at an Australian university were eligible to participate. The intervention included a first-person digital story about an Indigenous man with type 2 diabetes, accompanied by group-based discussions and self-reflection. The Comprehensive State Empathy Scale was utilised to assess empathy levels.Results: A total of 98 students completed both pre- and post-intervention surveys. There was a statistically significant increase in mean Comprehensive State Empathy Scale scores post-intervention (p < 0.001), indicating higher empathy levels. Improvements were observed across all six Comprehensive State Empathy Scale subscales, suggesting a multidimensional impact of the intervention.Conclusions: The digital story intervention significantly enhanced the cultural empathy levels of postgraduate diabetes education students. This study contributes to the evidence base for narrative-based pedagogies in cultivating empathy among healthcare providers. The findings highlight the potential of digital storytelling as a tool for improving cultural competency in healthcare education and practice, ultimately contributing to more empathic care for Indigenous people with diabetes.