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A Cross‐Sectional Study of Empathy Among Dental Students at King Abdulaziz University
Author(s) -
Naguib Ghada H.,
Sindi Amal M.,
Attar Moaz H.,
Alshouibi Ehab N.,
Hamed Mohamed T.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of dental education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.53
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1930-7837
pISSN - 0022-0337
DOI - 10.21815/jde.019.160
Subject(s) - empathy , psychology , obligation , curriculum , perspective taking , perspective (graphical) , cross sectional study , medical education , clinical psychology , medicine , social psychology , pedagogy , mathematics , pathology , political science , law , geometry
Empathy is the fundamental substructure of moral behavior. Skillful clinicians may not necessarily be successful dentists if they do not have sufficient empathy. The aim of this study was to assess the level of empathy among dental students at King Abdulaziz University with an emphasis on the effect of gender and study level. A cross‐sectional study was carried out among third‐ to sixth‐year dental students of King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A validated, self‐administered Jefferson Scale of Empathy‐Health Care Provider Student Version was distributed in academic year 2016‐17 to all 380 students in the third to sixth years. A total of 300 students responded, for a response rate of 78.9%. The results showed that the students’ mean empathy score was 84.84±11.28 on a range from 20 to 140. The fifth‐ and sixth‐year students had higher scores than the third‐ and fourth‐year students although the differences were not statistically significant. The mean empathy score of women students was significantly higher (p<0.001) than that of men students, and the women demonstrated significantly better perspective‐taking (p<0.001) than the men. This study found that the students were empathetic and had a sense of moral obligation although their mean empathy score was not as high as expected. Integrating empathic, ethical, and professional elements into the dental curriculum is needed.