Empathy and Burnout – A Cross-Sectional Study Among Mental Healthcare Providers in France

Abstract

Previous studies have established a correlation between empathy and burnout among healthcare providers. The aim of this study is to explore whether empathy – the ability to understand what another person is experiencing, was related to mental healthcare staffs’ burnout. We performed a descriptive, cross-sectional, observational study among medical and nursing mental healthcare staff working in the district of Moselle, France. Participants completed a survey including The French versions of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSPE) and The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS). The sample included 241 (n=241) participants (N=420, response rate=51.7%). 187 (77.6%) respondents had low burnout, 43 (17.8%) had intermediate burnout and 11 (4.6%) had high burnout. 41 (17%) had low empathy, 156 (64.7) had moderate empathy and 44 (18.3%) scored high. Empathy scores were positively correlated with scores of personal accomplishment of the MBI-HSS (r=0.2; p<0.001), but negatively correlated with scores of depersonalization (r=-0.2; p<0.003). Highest means of depersonalization (DP) (M=8.7; SD=6.8; p<0.009) and lowest means of compassionate care (M=40.05; SD=7.9; p=0.0001) were found among forensic psychiatric security units staff. Participation in the Omega educational program was associated with lower scores of EE on the MBI-HSS survey (mean score 14.7 versus a mean score of 19.7 for nonparticipants). Empathic mental healthcare providers have lower levels of burnout. Forensic psychiatric staff showed low means of compassionate care and high depersonalization. Interventions designed to foster attributes and skills such as empathy, resilience, and perception of security may be an essential step in reducing and preventing burnout.

A price tag on clinical empathy? Factors influencing its cost-effectiveness

“…Observational studies report (among other things) that enhanced empathy reduces mortality by 50% among diabetic patients, 3 reduces symptom burden and improves wellbeing, 6 increases patient enablement, 8 increases patient safety, 5 improves self-efficacy and adherence 9 and reduces practitioner burnout. 4 …”

“…The evidence in this area, however, is mixed, with a growing consensus that therapeutic empathy reduces practitioner burnout and increases job satisfaction. 4 Few things are likely to be more costly than losing physicians due to burnout and having to replace them. These long-term human resource outcomes are rarely included in cost-effectiveness analyses but may prove relevant in the evaluation of empathic interventions.…”

“… 2 These trials suggest that compared with ‘usual care’, empathic positive communication can reduce pain, improve patient satisfaction and increase quality of life. Observational studies suggest that empathic care has benefits ranging from reducing mortality 3 and practitioner burnout 4 to increasing safety. 5 On the other hand, these very same studies reveal that additional time is required to undertake empathy training and to treat patients in the clinic; both of these can be costly.…”

Patients’ Satisfaction With the Quality of Dermatology Consultation of a Tertiary Care Hospital of Pakistan

“…Teaching strategies can be didactic lectures, small group discussions, workshops, role playing, standardized patients' interviews and real patients' interactions. Studies evaluating long term effects of formal curriculum are generally lacking 15 . The clinical environment, though busy, is an important learning site.…”

Empathy and Burnout in Medical Staff: Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction and Job Commitment

“…Empathy can impact both job satisfaction and job commitment. For example, empathy makes practicing medicine more meaningful, enhancing the sense of usefulness among medical staff, ensuring better job satisfaction and attenuating burnout [24,[37][38] Similarly, empathy and burnout could be mediated by job commitment [39]. One study found that with more years of experience and greater job commitment, there is a sequential increase in nurses' empathy, so variations in job commitment can improve the relationship between empathy and burnout [39,40].…”