Luz Cánovas1, Antonio-José Carrascosa2, Modesto García3, Mariano Fernández4, Almudena Calvo5, Vicente Monsalve6, José-Francisco Soriano7. 1. Pain Clinic, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Ourense (CHUO), Ourense, Spain. 2. Pain Clinic, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain. 3. Pain Clinic and Department of Anesthesiology, Hospital San Juan, Alicante, Spain. 4. Department of Anesthesiology, Hospital Civil (Complejo Hosp. Regional Carlos Haya), Málaga, Spain. 5. Medical Department, Mundipharma, S.L., Madrid, Spain. 6. Pain Clinic, Consorci Hospital General Universitari de València, Valencia, Spain. 7. Department of Psychology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
Abstract
Objective: To assess the impact of the empathy of physicians, perceived by patients with chronic pain, regarding pain relief and health-related quality of life (HR-QoL). Methods: A prospective noninterventional study was conducted in 2,898 patients with moderate to severe chronic pain who were referred to pain clinics. The same physician visited each patient at baseline and after one and three months. Study questionnaires included the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE), the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), the Pain Coping Questionnaire (CAD-R), the Brief Pain Inventory Short Form (BPI-SF), and the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D). Regression analyses were used to evaluate the independent contribution of the changes in perceived empathy over pain intensity and improvement of HR-QoL. Results: BPI-SF scores for pain intensity, rated as worst, least, average, and current pain, decreased significantly (P < 0.001) from baseline to month 3, with reductions of 33.7%, 42.5%, 40.0%, and 46.9%, respectively. Pain intensity decreased from 6.3 ± 1.5 at baseline to 4.7 ± 1.8 at one month and 3.8 ± 1.9 at three months (P < 0.050). Significant (P < 0.001) improvements in the EQ-5D tariff (+37.1%) and EQ-5D VAS (+26.7%) were also recorded. In the linear regression analysis, JSPPPE and LOT-R, but not CAD-R, were significantly associated with pain relief and HR-QoL. Conclusions: Physicians' empathy and patients' dispositional optimism have a role in determining positive outcomes in patients with chronic pain. Physicians' empathy may therefore be a suitable, yet relatively unexplored, target for intervention.
Objective: To assess the impact of the empathy of physicians, perceived by patients with chronic pain, regarding pain relief and health-related quality of life (HR-QoL). Methods: A prospective noninterventional study was conducted in 2,898 patients with moderate to severe chronic pain who were referred to pain clinics. The same physician visited each patient at baseline and after one and three months. Study questionnaires included the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE), the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), the Pain Coping Questionnaire (CAD-R), the Brief Pain Inventory Short Form (BPI-SF), and the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D). Regression analyses were used to evaluate the independent contribution of the changes in perceived empathy over pain intensity and improvement of HR-QoL. Results: BPI-SF scores for pain intensity, rated as worst, least, average, and current pain, decreased significantly (P < 0.001) from baseline to month 3, with reductions of 33.7%, 42.5%, 40.0%, and 46.9%, respectively. Pain intensity decreased from 6.3 ± 1.5 at baseline to 4.7 ± 1.8 at one month and 3.8 ± 1.9 at three months (P < 0.050). Significant (P < 0.001) improvements in the EQ-5D tariff (+37.1%) and EQ-5D VAS (+26.7%) were also recorded. In the linear regression analysis, JSPPPE and LOT-R, but not CAD-R, were significantly associated with pain relief and HR-QoL. Conclusions: Physicians' empathy and patients' dispositional optimism have a role in determining positive outcomes in patients with chronic pain. Physicians' empathy may therefore be a suitable, yet relatively unexplored, target for intervention.
Authors: Moses K Nyongesa; Paul Mwangi; Stanley W Wanjala; Agnes M Mutua; Hans M Koot; Pim Cuijpers; Charles R J C Newton; Amina Abubakar Journal: Health Qual Life Outcomes Date: 2020-06-05 Impact factor: 3.186