Division of Dental Hygiene, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
Dental Hygiene Program, Community College of Denver, Denver, CO, USA.
J Dent Hyg. 2024 Aug;98(4):20-27.
Empathetic engagement is considered a vital component in forming respect-based relationships between patients and clinicians, leading to more optimal patient care. The purpose of this study was to explore whether there was a relationship between dental hygiene students' levels of empathy and student demographics including age, gender, year in school, and the degree type of dental hygiene program attending. This was a cross-sectional observation study conducted among dental hygiene undergraduate students attending three dental hygiene programs in the Midwestern United States. Two programs offered associate degrees and one offered a baccalaureate degree. Participants completed the 20-item Jefferson Scale of Empathy, student edition (JSE-S) along with demographic questions including age, gender, year in dental hygiene program, and degree type of dental hygiene program. Descriptive statistics and comparisons of the empathy scores were conducted using t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Regressions were conducted to determine whether the students' year in dental hygiene program and the type of degree program were predictors of empathy. Forty-one participants completed the questionnaire for a 65% response rate. The mean empathy score was 83.05 ± 10.04 among the participants. There were no statistically significant differences between levels of empathy of first- and second-year students or those attending a two-year institution versus a four-year university. Age, year in program, and type of degree were not shown to be predictors of empathy. Results from this study did not show relationships or predictors of empathy with dental hygiene students' demographics or type of degree program. Future research should expand beyond a small homogenous convenience sample and include a longitudinal gauge to assess potential fluctuations in empathy as students progress throughout the curriculum and as practicing clinicians.
同理心的投入被认为是在患者和临床医生之间建立基于尊重的关系的重要组成部分，从而提供更优化的患者护理。本研究的目的是探讨牙科卫生学生的同理心水平与学生人口统计学特征（包括年龄、性别、在校年级和所参加的牙科卫生项目学位类型）之间是否存在关系。这是一项在美国中西部的三个牙科卫生项目中进行的牙科卫生本科学生的横断面观察性研究。其中两个项目提供副学士学位，一个提供学士学位。参与者完成了 20 项杰斐逊同理心量表（JSE-S），以及包括年龄、性别、牙科卫生项目年级和牙科卫生项目学位类型在内的人口统计学问题。使用 t 检验和单因素方差分析（ANOVA）对同理心得分进行描述性统计和比较。进行回归分析以确定学生的牙科卫生项目年级和学位项目类型是否是同理心的预测因素。41 名参与者完成了问卷，应答率为 65%。参与者的平均同理心得分为 83.05 ± 10.04。一年级和二年级学生或在两年制院校和四年制大学就读的学生之间的同理心水平没有统计学上的显著差异。年龄、项目年级和学位类型均未显示为同理心的预测因素。本研究的结果并未显示同理心与牙科卫生学生的人口统计学特征或学位项目类型之间存在关系或预测因素。未来的研究应超越小的同质便利样本，并包括纵向衡量标准，以评估学生在整个课程中以及作为实践临床医生时同理心的潜在波动。
