title: Patients' Perceptions of Dental Students' Empathic, Person-Centered Care in a Dental School Clinic in Malaysia.
abstract: Empathy has been identified as a crucial foundation in building an effective dentist-patient relationship. The aim of this study was to assess patients' perceptions of dental students' empathic care in the primary oral health care clinic at International Medical University in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in May-October 2014. The study also assessed the validity and reliability of the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) Measure in this setting; the association between number of encounters and students' CARE Measure scores; and the association between students' empathy (measured by the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire) and CARE Measure scores. Participants were 283 patients (aged ≥18 years) who were asked to self-complete the ten-item CARE Measure immediately after their clinical encounter with students who provided care under supervision of the teaching staff. The results showed that the CARE Measure demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.95). A single factor solution emerged, accounting for 69% of the variance. The mean CARE Measure score in the consultations was 43.55±6.14, and 26% of the students achieved the maximum possible score of 50. The mean number of encounters with each student was 2.33±2.78. An increase of one episode was associated with an insignificant average CARE score decrease of 0.05 (-0.28, 0.38), whereas students' empathy was associated with a small increase in average CARE Measure score of 0.63 (0.08, 1.18). These results provide evidence of the measure's ability to support feedback to dental students on their empathy when interacting with patients.
authors.affiliation: All the authors contributed equally to this study. Dr. Babar is Associate Professor and Program Director, School of Dentistry, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Dr. Hasan is Lecturer, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Wong Mei Yong was a student pursuing a BPharm degree, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the time of the study; Dr. Mitha is Senior Lecturer, School of Dentistry, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Dr. Al-Waeli is pursuing a PhD at Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University, Canada. muneer_babar@imu.edu.my.
authors.forename: Muneer Gohar
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Babar
authors.affiliation: All the authors contributed equally to this study. Dr. Babar is Associate Professor and Program Director, School of Dentistry, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Dr. Hasan is Lecturer, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Wong Mei Yong was a student pursuing a BPharm degree, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the time of the study; Dr. Mitha is Senior Lecturer, School of Dentistry, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Dr. Al-Waeli is pursuing a PhD at Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University, Canada.
authors.forename: Syed Shahzad
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Hasan
authors.affiliation: All the authors contributed equally to this study. Dr. Babar is Associate Professor and Program Director, School of Dentistry, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Dr. Hasan is Lecturer, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Wong Mei Yong was a student pursuing a BPharm degree, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the time of the study; Dr. Mitha is Senior Lecturer, School of Dentistry, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Dr. Al-Waeli is pursuing a PhD at Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University, Canada.
authors.forename: Wong Mei
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Yong
authors.affiliation: All the authors contributed equally to this study. Dr. Babar is Associate Professor and Program Director, School of Dentistry, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Dr. Hasan is Lecturer, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Wong Mei Yong was a student pursuing a BPharm degree, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the time of the study; Dr. Mitha is Senior Lecturer, School of Dentistry, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Dr. Al-Waeli is pursuing a PhD at Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University, Canada.
authors.forename: Shahid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mitha
authors.affiliation: All the authors contributed equally to this study. Dr. Babar is Associate Professor and Program Director, School of Dentistry, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Dr. Hasan is Lecturer, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Wong Mei Yong was a student pursuing a BPharm degree, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the time of the study; Dr. Mitha is Senior Lecturer, School of Dentistry, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Dr. Al-Waeli is pursuing a PhD at Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University, Canada.
authors.forename: Haider Abdulameer
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Al-Waeli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003740:Dental Clinics; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D012575:Schools, Dental; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: CARE Measure; clinical education; dental education; dentist-patient relations; empathy