ABSTRACT
Objective To assess the empathy level of general practitioners (GPs) in the outpatient clinics of a general hospital,and to investigate the related factors.Methods Patients attending the Family Medicine Clinic of HKU-Shenzhen Hospital in September 2014 and met the inclusion criteria were asked to complete the questionnaire which included general characteristics,overall satisfaction and the Measure-Consultation and Relational Empathy Measure (CARE) Scale after the consultation.Results Of the 1 818 questionnaires retrieved,1 690 CARE scales were completed (intact rate was 92.96%).The overall satisfaction rate was 95.92% (1 621/1 690).And 97.28% (1 644/1 690) of the patients would recommend family medicine service to their friends or relatives.The total score of CARE scale was (45.47±6.26),and the scores of 4 CARE components were (4.63 ± 0.59),(4.43 ± 0.81),(4.54 ± 0.69) and (4.55 ± 0.66),which showed significant difference (P<0.01).The multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the mean CARE scores were not influenced by gender and education levels of the patients,gender of the consulting doctors,initial/follow up consultation,and the location of the consultation.The mean CARE scores were influenced by age of patients and the reasons for consulting (P<0.05).There was a moderate correlation of the CARE scores with the overall satisfaction of patients (r=0.613,P<0.001) and patient's recommendation of the clinic (r=0.466,P<0.001).Conclusion Doctors who were evaluated in this study have a higher empathy level than results from other countries.There is positive correlation between doctor's empathy level and patient's overall satisfaction.The result of doctor's empathy level may be influenced by patient's age and the reasons for consulting.