Background: Clinical empathy is considered a crucial element in patient-centered care. The advent of digital technology in healthcare has introduced new dynamics to empathy which needs to be explored in the context of the technology, particularly within the context of written live chats. Given the growing prevalence of written live chats, this study aimed to explore and evaluate techniques of digital clinical empathy within a familial cancer-focused live chat, focusing on how health professionals can (a) understand, (b) communicate, and (c) act upon users' perspectives and emotional states.
Methods: The study utilized a qualitative approach in two research phases. It examined the expected and implemented techniques and effectiveness of digital clinical empathy in a live chat service, involving semi-structured interviews with health professionals (n = 9), focus group discussions with potential users (n = 42), and two rounds of usability tests between health professionals (n = 9) and users (n = 18). Data were examined using qualitative content analysis.
Results: Expected techniques of digital clinical empathy, as articulated by both users and health professionals, involve reciprocal engagement, timely responses, genuine authenticity, and a balance between professionalism and informality, all while going beyond immediate queries to facilitate informed decision-making. Usability tests confirm these complexities and introduce new challenges, such as balancing timely, authentic responses with effective, personalized information management and carefully framed referrals.
Conclusions: The study reveals that the digital realm adds layers of complexity to the practice of clinical empathy. It underscores the importance of ongoing adaptation and suggests that future developments could benefit from a hybrid model that integrates the strengths of both AI and human health professionals to meet evolving user needs and maintain high-quality, empathetic healthcare interactions.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-10785-8 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
December 2024
College of Nursing, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, Shandong Province, China.
Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in women worldwide. Although large language models (LLMs) can provide breast cancer nursing care consultation, inherent hallucinations can lead to inaccurate responses. Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) technology can improve LLM performance, offering a new approach for clinical applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSoc Neurosci
December 2024
Center for Research in Cognition and Neuroscience, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
Neural reactions to others' pain are usually lower when the individual is of a different ethnicity than when they are of the same ethnicity. This suggests that empathy is not only an automatic phenomenon but also a motivated one. In the present study, we tested whether one's willingness to increase or decrease empathy would correspondingly increase or decrease the neural empathic response, as measured with electroencephalography (EEG), irrespective of ethnicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsychiatr Danub
December 2024
School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
This review article explores the relationship between psychodynamic factors, personality organization, and loneliness. It focuses on extensive research into attachment styles, shame, pathological narcissism, and personality disorders. Insecure attachment styles, both anxious and avoidant, emerge as significant predictors of loneliness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Dent Educ
December 2024
College of Dental Medicine, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, USA.
Purpose/objectives: Emotional intelligence (EI) supports clinical and social competencies of a practicing dentist. The Bar-On EI model consists of inter-related competencies in five domains: Self-Perception, Self-Expression, Interpersonal, Decision making, and Stress management. This study investigated the relationship between dental students' EI measured by Emotional Quotient Inventory 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Health Serv Res
December 2024
Department of Higher Education Administration, School of Management and Economics, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Background: In today's competitive world, especially in critical situations, dental clinic managers seek to retain customers and allocate more market share. The importance-performance analysis (IPA) technique is a powerful diagnostic tool that helps managers identify fundamental deficiencies, establish priorities and provide insights into which service improvement areas managers should focus on. This study aimed to improve the quality of life of patients at the Alborz Dental Clinic based on their perception of safe services during the coronavirus pandemic using IPA.
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