Measurement of Humanity Among Health Professionals: Development and Validation of the Medical Humanity Scale Using the Delphi Method

Abstract

Background Despite the importance of humanism in providing health care, there is a lack of valid and reliable tool for assessing humanity among health professionals. Objective The aim of this study was to design a new humanism scale and to assess the validity of this scale in measuring humanism among Syrian health professional students. Methods The Medical Humanity Scale (MHS) was designed. It consists of 27 items categorized into 7 human values including patient-oriented care, respect, empathy, ethics, altruism, and compassion. The scale was tested for internal consistency and reliability using Cronbach α and test-retest methods. The construct validity of the scale was also tested to assess the ability of the scale in differentiating between groups of health professional students with different levels of medical humanity. A 7-point Likert scale was adopted. The study included 300 participants including 97 medical, 78 dental, 82 pharmacy, and 43 preparatory-year students from Syrian universities. The Delphi method was used and factors analysis was performed. Bartlett test of sphericity and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sample adequacy were used. The number of components was extracted using principal component analysis. Results The mean score of the MHS was 158.7 (SD 11.4). The MHS mean score of female participants was significantly higher than the mean score of male participants (159.59, SD 10.21 vs 155.48, SD 14.35; P=.008). The MHS mean score was significantly lower in dental students (154.12, SD 1.45; P=.005) than the mean scores of medical students (159.77, SD 1.02), pharmacy students (161.40, SD 1.05), and preparatory-year students (159.05, SD 1.94). However, no significant relationship was found between humanism and academic year (P=.32), university type (P=.34), marital status (P=.64), or financial situation (P=.16). The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test (0.730) and Bartlett test of sphericity (1201.611, df=351; P=.01) were performed. Factor analysis indicated that the proportion of variables between the first and second factors was greater than 10%, confirming that the scale was a single group. The Cronbach α for the overall scale was 0.735, indicating that the scale had acceptable reliability and validity. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that the MHS is a reliable and valid tool for measuring humanity among health professional students and the development of patient-centered care.

Measurement of humanity among interns of Internal Medicine Department, Damascus University: a cross-sectional study

“…A cross-sectional study designed the scale based on the Medical Humanity Score (MHS) and the study of Ataya et al 1 ,. to assess the integration of seven human values: respect, empathy, altruism, acceptance, consideration, appreciation, and compassion.…”

“…Humanities training for doctors, particularly, has been valued in that it encourages medics to listen to their patients closely and to consider what is being communicated by certain uses of language in a process described as ‘narrative medicine’ 1 . Claims for narrative medicine focus on the importance of communication between doctor and patient, and the improvements in communication that humanities training can elicit.…”

“…The ethical commitment of doctors to uphold patient autonomy and well-being is highlighted by the concept of medical humanism 1 . Despite its importance, there are currently no valid and reliable methods available for measuring the humanity of Syrian Interns.…”

“…They should actively engage patients in decision-making processes while ensuring effective communication with both patients and their families 2,3 . Medical professionalism involves a combination of technical skills, ethical values, patient-centered care, and humanistic qualities 1 .…”

“…There is a lack of papers on measuring the human element in healthcare resulting in varying approaches to evaluating medical humanity 1,2 . We have developed a verified scale based on the Medical Humanity Scale to evaluate the human values of the interns of the Internal Medicine Department.…”