Psychometric properties of the Greek version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy and empathy levels in Greek dental postgraduate students

PURPOSE

The aims of this study were to: (1) examine the psychometric properties of the Greek version of JSE-HP and (2) explore empathy among Greek dental postgraduate students.

METHODS

The JSE-HP scale was translated into Greek using the back translation method. The questionnaire was given to 111 dental postgraduate students between November 2017 and February 2018. A random sample of 25% was retested to assess test-retest reliability. The reliability of the Greek version of JSE-HP was measured with Cronbach's alpha (α) and Discrimination Indices (DIs). Exploratory Factor Analysis, with varimax rotation of the factorial axes, was used to examine the dimensionality and the factorial validity of the Greek version of the JSE-HP. Comparisons between groups of postgraduate students were performed as appropriate with the Kruskal-Wallis or the Mann-Whitney U test.

RESULTS

The response rate was 100%. The mean age was 28.9 years. The reliability, in the sense of internal consistency of the questionnaire was considered satisfactory (Cronbach's alpha: 0.76, average DI: 0.33.) The test-retest reliability was satisfactory (Pearson's r = 0.77, p < 0.001). Factor Analysis revealed 7 significant factors. No statistically significant differences in empathy scores were found among groups of postgraduate students.

CONCLUSIONS

The Greek version of the JSE-HP shows good psychometric properties. Empathy scores do not differ among Greek dental postgraduate students.

Patient Perceptions of Clinician's Empathy: Measurement and Psychometrics

The prominence of reciprocal understanding in patient-doctor empathic engagement implies that patient perception of clinician's empathy has an important role in the assessment of the patient-clinician relationship. In response to a need for an assessment tool to measure patient's views of clinician empathy, we developed a brief (5-item) instrument, the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE). This review article reports evidence in support of the validity and reliability of the JSPPPE.