Empathy is an important attribute for occupational therapists in establishing rapport and in better understanding their clients. However, empathy can be compromised by high workloads, personal stressors and pressures to demonstrate efficacy. Occupational therapists also work with patients from a variety of diagnostic groups. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of empathy and attitudes towards clients amongst undergraduate occupational therapy students at one Australian University. A cross-sectional study was undertaken using a written survey of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) and the Medical Condition Regard Scale. Overall, a strong level of empathy was reported amongst students. Four medical conditions that occupational therapists work with (stroke, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and depression) were held in high regard. Substance abuse, however, was held in comparatively low regard. Overall, the year of study appeared to have no significant impact on the students' empathy. Despite having a lower reported empathy level than found in health professions from other studies using the JSPE, occupational therapy students were found to have a good level of empathy. Of concern, however, was the bias reported against the medical condition of substance abuse, highlighting that the there may be a need to reinforce that patients from this diagnostic group are equally deserving of quality care irrespective of their clinical condition. Recommendations for future research include completing a longitudinal study of occupational therapy students' empathy levels and investigating the empathy levels of occupational therapists working with different client groups. Limitations of the study include the convenience sampling of occupational therapy students enrolled at one university which limits the generalizability of the results to groups of participants with similar characteristics.
BackgroundThere is a long history of certain medical conditions being associated with stigma, stereotypes, and negative attitudes. Research has shown that such attitudes can have a detrimental effect on patients presenting with stigmatised medical conditions and can even flow on to impact their family. The objective of this study was to measure the attitudes of undergraduate students enrolled in six different health-related courses at Monash University toward patients with intellectual disability, substance abuse, and acute mental illness.MethodsA convenience sample of undergraduate students enrolled in six health-related courses in first, second and third years at Monash University were surveyed. The Medical Condition Regard Scale - a valid and reliable, self-report measure of attitudes - was administered to students along with a brief demographic form. Mean scores, t-tests, and ANOVA were used to analyse student attitudes. Ethics approval was granted.Results548 students participated. Statistically significant differences were found between the courses (p = 0.05), year of the course (p = 0.09), and gender (p = 0.04) for the medical condition of intellectual disability. There was no statistically significant difference between the courses, year of the course, gender, and age group for substance abuse or acute mental illness conditions.ConclusionThe findings suggest that students in undergraduate health-related courses, as a group, have a strong regard for patients with intellectual disability and some regard for patients with acute mental illness, but not for patients presenting with substance abuse problems.
Empathy is a central component in effective healthcare provider-patient relationships, yet evidence exists that healthcare professions students lack empathy. A cross-sectional survey was completed to identify whether a relationship exists between empathy levels in baccalaureate nursing, psychology, pre-medical, pre-dental, pre-physical therapy, and pre-occupational therapy majors who have or have not identifi ed a projected specialty within their profession upon entry into practice, and compare these fi ndings. A 28-item questionnaire was completed by a convenience sample of202 students with declared majors in the healthcare professions of interest. There was no signifi cant difference in empathy levels between students of all majors who had or who had not indicated a proj ected specialty, validating findings in previous research (Ward et aI., 2009). Empathy levels in nursing students with a proj ected specialty were signifi cantly higher than those of students in all other majors with proj ected specialties. Gender and age signifi cantly infl uenced empathy levels between students of all maj ors with a proj ected specialty. These findings expand the current understanding of empathy and what may infl uence empathy levels in students planning to enter healthcare. Suggestions fo r future research are described.
Life events, such as the birth of a child, disrupt habitual travel behaviour and provide a valuable opportunity to influence the adoption of sustainable transport practices. However, in order for sustainable travel practices to be adopted, an understanding is required of the factors that influence travel mode choice among families with young children. Research in this field is particularly timely given many in the millennial generation, a comparably large cohort, are approaching this life stage. This comprehensive literature review develops a framework of factors influencing travel mode choice among families with young children. The findings reveal a multitude of factors influence decisions about mode choice, and, in particular, encourage travel by car, when travelling with young children. The paper concludes with an agenda for future research about travel among families with young children, a largely overlooked group of transport users.
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