Effect of empathy training on the empathy level of healthcare providers in Ethiopia: a cluster randomized controlled trial
Abstract
Objective Empathy has deteriorated throughout clinical training and medical practice, and little is known about the effect of empathy training on the empathy level of healthcare providers. To address this gap, we assessed the effect of empathy training on the empathy level of healthcare providers in Ethiopia. Design A cluster randomized controlled trial study design was conducted from 20 December 2021 to 20 March 2022. The empathy training intervention was conducted for three consecutive days. Setting The study was conducted in five fistula treatment centers in Ethiopia. Participants The participants were all randomly selected healthcare providers. Main outcome measures Total mean score, percentage changes, and Cohen’s effect size were computed. A linear mixed effects model and independent t-test were used for data analysis. Results A majority of the study participants were nurses in the profession, married, and first-degree holders. There was no statistically significant difference in the baseline empathy score of the intervention arm across their socio-demographic features. At the baseline, the mean empathy scores of the control and intervention arms were 102.10 ± 15.38 and 101.13 ± 17.67, respectively. The effect of empathy training on the total mean score changes of empathy of the intervention arm compared to the control arm at each follow-up time had a statistically significant difference. After a week, a month, and three months of post-intervention, the total mean…
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Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design.
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