Empathy among first year university students: A cross-sectional analytical study

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Psychology
• Medical Education

Background:

• Empathy is a crucial skill in healthcare professions.
• Variations in empathy levels among students entering different health-related programs require investigation.
• Understanding factors influencing empathy can inform educational strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare empathy levels between first-year students in various health-related programs (medicine-dentistry, physiotherapy, psychology, veterinary medicine) and non-health programs.
• To identify factors associated with empathy levels in these student populations.

Main Methods:

• Anonymous online questionnaires administered to first-year students across three universities.
• Utilized the Interpersonal Responsiveness Index (IRI) and Jefferson Scale of Empathy for Health Professionals (JSPE-HPS).
• Statistical analyses included correlations and ANOVAs to compare empathy scores and identify predictors.

Main Results:

• Psychology students exhibited significantly higher IRI scores compared to non-health students (p < 0.001).
• Within health programs, psychology, medicine, and dentistry students scored higher on IRI and JSPE-HPS than physiotherapy students (p < 0.001).
• Gender, field of study, and communication training were significant predictors, explaining a small variance in empathy scores.

Conclusions:

• Significant differences in empathy exist based on field of study, with mental health students demonstrating higher levels and physiotherapy/non-health students showing lower levels.
• While gender, age, and communication training influence empathy, further research into personality traits and emotional regulation is warranted.
• Integrating empathy-promoting educational programs from the first year is recommended, especially for fields with lower baseline empathy.