Primary Health Care Physicians' Aging Simulation and Its Impact on Their Empathy: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Empathy is of particular importance in the relationship with elderly patients. Practical exercises, and especially those that include simulation situations, are an effective tool for the development and improvement of physicians' skills. The objective was to assess the evaluation of the degree of empathy toward the elderly people by primary care physicians, using an aging simulator suit.

A quasi-experimental, randomized, controlled, multicenter study was conducted. The relationship between the difference in preintervention and postintervention Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy scores and sociodemographic characteristics of physicians were assessed. A univariate analysis using logistic regression was conducted to ascertain the impact of sociodemographic and occupational variables on the discrepancy in preintervention and postintervention scores on the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy.

The mean preintervention score in the intervention group was 117.92 points (SD = 14.34), while the mean postintervention score was 121.32 points (SD = 10.79). The mean difference was statistically significant (t = -2.176, P = .034). In the control group, the mean preintervention score was 119.47 points (SD = 9.82), while the mean postintervention score was 120.40 points (SD = 9.89). This mean difference was not statistically significant (t = -0.566, P = .576). A statistically significant increase between pre- and postintervention scores was observed in physicians aged 65 years and older (Odds Ratio = 9.30; P = .046), and in physicians working in the semiurban setting (Odds Ratio = 2.10; P = .041).

The aging simulation produced a statistically significant improvement in the empathy levels of primary health care physicians.