The value of empathy in dietetic consultations. A pilot study to investigate its effect on satisfaction, autonomy and agreement.
Forty individuals with diabetes and three dietitians completed a questionnaire concerning their consultation. Empathy was examined using the Empathic Communication Coding System (ECCS) (Bylund & Makoul, 2002). The more empathic the professionals' response to emotional opportunities, the more satisfied patients were with their consultations (r = 0.41, d.f. = 15, P = 0.05). There was a nonsignificant trend that the more empathic opportunities that arise during a consultation, the higher the agreement between patient and dietitian on what was discussed (r = 0.28, P = 0.07). The data also suggest that patients reported more autonomy support when they created more empathic opportunities during their consultation (r = -0.29, P = 0.07). This preliminary study suggests that professionals' responses to empathic opportunities may be a useful component of dietetic consultations.
Goodchild
C E
CE
School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK. ceg301@bham.ac.uk
Skinner
T C
TC
Parkin
T
T
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003376:Counseling / Q000592:standards*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000628:therapy*; D004046:Dietetics / Q000592:standards*; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom