Treatment satisfaction mediates the association between perceived physician empathy and psychological distress in a community sample of individuals with chronic pain.

Objective: While the benefits of patient-centered care have been consistently demonstrated in the health literature, there exists a dearth of pathway research within health outcome research, especially within the chronic pain context. This study examined the relationship between perceived physician empathy and patient psychological distress and its underlying mechanism.

Methods: A community sample of 259 adults with chronic pain completed online questionnaires measuring patient-perceived physician empathy, treatment satisfaction, depressive and anxiety symptoms. Analyses were conducted using correlational and mediation analyses.

Results: Results revealed perceived empathy to be positively and strongly correlated with treatment satisfaction (r = .72, p < .001). A significant negative correlation was also demonstrated between perceived empathy and depressive symptoms (r = -.13, p < .05), but not between perceived empathy and anxious symptoms (r = .03, p = .65). Results revealed significant mediation models between perceived empathy and patient depressive symptoms (indirect effect: B = -.19, SE =.06, 95 % CI [-.31, -.09]) and anxious symptoms (indirect effect: B = -.24, SE = .06, 95 % CI [-.35, -.14]), via treatment satisfaction as mediator and including covariates.

Conclusion: Chronic pain patients who perceive greater levels of physician empathy experience fewer depressive and anxious symptoms, as mediated by treatment satisfaction.

Practice Implications: Clinical training and practice should promote empathetic components of health communication within chronic pain treatment.