Predictors of perceived empathy among patients visiting primary health-care centers in central Ethiopia.
BACKGROUND
Empathy is crucial to the achievement of patient centeredness consultations. However, it has not been frequently studied particularly in resource-limited settings.


OBJECTIVE
To identify predictors of patient reports indicating greater empathy among providers during patient visit to primary health-care facilities.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the level of satisfaction among 768 out-patients, who consecutively visited six health centers in central Ethiopia. Patients were recruited from health centers under study based on proportional to size allocation. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the relationship between empathy scores and other patient factors.


RESULTS
The mean perceived empathy score was 31.34 ± 8.37 (range of possible values: 10-50). Patient-related factors that were negatively associated with perceived empathy were Tigre and Guraghe ethnicity [β = -4.45; 95% confidence interval (CI) = -6.86 to -2.03], Wakefena religion (β = -2.09; 95% CI = -3.82 to -0.35), lack of privacy during consultation (β = -1.62; 95% CI = -2.57 to -0.68), involvement of family in consultation (β = -1.45; 95% CI = -2.17 to -0.12) and not revealing one's own private issues (β = -1.25; 95% CI = -2.17 to -0.33). Positive associations with provider empathy scores were found for those who reported knowing their provider (β = 2.42; 95 CI = 1.70 to 4.13), non-verbal communication (β = 0.88; 95% CI = 0.80 to 0.96) and perceived technical competency (β = 0.12; 95% CI = 0.05 to 0.19).


CONCLUSIONS
Perceived empathy in this study was lower than the findings reported in earlier studies. Health-care providers committed to the delivery of patient-centered care should take note of the determinants of better empathy as perceived by their clients.
Department of Health Education and Behavioral Sciences, College of Public Health and Medical Sciences, Jimma University, Ethiopia. zbkoricha@yahoo.com
Zewdie
Z
Birhanu
Tsion
T
Assefa
Mirkuzie
M
Woldie
Sudhakar
S
Morankar
D000328:Adult; D003151:Community Health Centers; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004645:Empathy; D005002:Ethiopia; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009633:Nonverbal Communication; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D055815:Young Adult