Table 1.
Comparison of self-reportedempathy scores between NSS and Non NSS volunteers.
| Items | Non NSS volunteers | NSS volunteers | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | SD | Mean | SD | ||
| Health care providers' understanding of their patients' feelings and the feelings of their patients' families do not influence treatment outcomes. | 3.528 | 1.1058 | 4.571 | 1.0103 | 0.000* |
| Patients feel better when their health care provider understands their feelings. | 4.450 | .8540 | 4.564 | 1.2453 | 0.323 |
| It is difficult for a health care provider to view things from patients' perspectives. | 2.978 | .9333 | 4.000 | 1.2649 | 0.000* |
| Understanding body language is as important as verbal communication in health care provider – patient relationships. | 4.456 | 1.0848 | 5.000 | 1.3001 | 0.000* |
| A health care provider's sense of humor contributes to a better clinical outcome. | 4.200 | 1.0270 | 4.712 | 1.3959 | 0.000* |
| Because people are different‚ it is difficult to see things from patients' perspectives. | 2.922 | 1.0435 | 4.109 | 1.0569 | 0.000* |
| Attention to patients' emotions is not important in patient interview [interviewing]. | 3.483 | 1.4892 | 4.615 | .7136 | 0.000* |
| Attentiveness to patients' personal experiences does not influence treatment outcomes. | 3.589 | 1.1126 | 4.353 | .7432 | 0.000* |
| Health care providers should try to stand in their patients' shoes when providing care to them. | 4.294 | .9136 | 4.872 | 1.3379 | 0.000* |
| Patients value a health care provider's understanding of their feelings‚ which is therapeutic in its own right. | 4.306 | 1.0089 | 4.814 | 1.2690 | 0.000* |
| Patients' illnesses can be cured only by targeted treatment; therefore‚ health care providers' emotional ties with their patients do not have a significant influence in treatment outcomes. | 3.444 | 1.1395 | 3.910 | .9324 | 0.000* |
| Asking patients about what is happening in their personal lives is not helpful in understanding their physical complaints. | 3.206 | 1.2627 | 3.981 | .5503 | 0.000* |
| Health care providers should try to understand what is going on in their patients' minds by paying attention to their non-verbal cues and body language. | 4.244 | 1.0915 | 4.519 | 1.2416 | 0.032* |
| I believe that emotion has no place in the treatment of medical illness. | 3.150 | 1.0907 | 4.346 | 1.2631 | 0.000* |
| Empathy is a therapeutic skill without which a health care provider's success is limited. | 4.317 | 1.1505 | 5.103 | 1.3060 | 0.000* |
| Health care providers' understanding of the emotional status of their patients‚ as well as that of their families is one important component of the health care provider – patient relationship. | 4.433 | .9160 | 5.199 | 1.2619 | 0.000* |
| Health care providers should try to think like their patients in order to render better care. | 4.072 | 1.2283 | 4.968 | 1.4342 | 0.000* |
| Health care providers should not allow themselves to be influenced by strong personal bonds between their patients and their family members. | 3.633 | 1.0618 | 4.378 | 1.1322 | 0.000* |
| I do not enjoy reading non-medical literature or the arts. | 3.117 | 1.1100 | 4.218 | 1.2197 | 0.000* |
| I believe that empathy is an important factor in patients' treatment. | 4.394 | 1.0754 | 5.295 | 1.2913 | 0.000* |
| Total empathy score | 76.217 | 5.4283 | 91.526 | 7.3585 | 0.000* |