Clinician empathy positively impacts patient outcomes. Few studies have assessed the effects of different types of empathic expression.
Objective:
To describe how families respond when clinicians express empathy in different ways.
Design:
Prospective, mixed-methods cohort.
Setting/Subjects:
English and interpreted pediatric inpatient care conferences at a U.S. quaternary hospital between January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2021.
Measurements:
Directed content analysis of clinician empathic statements and family responses.
Results:
Of 29 patient-family dyads, 11 (39%) used language interpretation. In response to 80 clinician empathic statements, families expressed agreement or shared more 84% (67/80) of the time. Families shared more about their perspective in response to explore statements 71.4% (10/14) of the time, in response to validate statements 61% (17/28) of the time, and in response to respect/support statements 39% (11/28) of the time.
Conclusion:
Certain types of empathic statements may be more effective at prompting families to share more about their perspective, a key element of shared decision-making.
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