Compassionate health care: is empathy the key?

D. Blane, S.W. Mercer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Compassion is not clearly defined in healthcare research, whereas empathy - a basic component of all helping relationships and a necessary prerequisite to compassion - is easier to measure, and has a greater evidence base than compassion. Clinical empathy is a determinant of quality in healthcare, but it is affected by institutional culture and workload, and some clinicians are, for various reasons, more empathic than others. Since empathy can decline, can it also be enhanced through targeted educational programmes?
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Holistic Healthcare
Volume8
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2011

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