Table 4 Studies that implemented compassion interventions
From: Compassion: a scoping review of the healthcare literature
Study | Country | Setting | Design (evaluation) | Intervention | Participants | Outcomes (improved) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fogarty et al. [81] | US | Oncology | RCT (survey) | Enhanced compassion videotape intervention (n = 107) Standard care videotape (n = 103) | Breast cancer survivors (n = 123), women without cancer (n = 87) | - Physician compassion (yes) - Anxiety - State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (yes) - Treatment information recall (no) - Hypothetical treatment decision (no) - Perceptions of physician attributes (yes, but not for encouraging patient’s questions or involvement in decisions) |
Redelmeier et al. [82] | CA | Emergency | RCT (multiple) | Compassionate contact from trained student volunteers (n = 58) Usual care (n = 53) | Homeless in ER (n = 133) | - Patient satisfaction - survey (yes) - Number of repeat visits - hospital administrative data (yes) |
Betcher [84] | US | Palliative care | 1 group pre-post (survey) | Compassionate communication workshop with simulation | In-patient nurses (n = 8) | - Confidence in conveying a caring attitude (yes) - Developing caring relationship (yes) - Satisfaction with care provided (yes) |
Dewar, Cook [87] | UK | Hospital | 1 group longitudinal (qualitative) | Communities of practice, action learning sets, workplace-based activities | Nurses (n = 86) | - Staff culture of compassionate care (yes, but staff reported institutional barriers to providing compassionate care) |
Fortney et al. [88] | US | Primary care | 1 group longitudinal (survey) | Abbreviated mindfulness course with home practice, intended to improve compassion towards others | Primary care clinicians (n = 30) | - Compassion - Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale (no) - Depression, anxiety, stress - Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (yes) - Perceived stress - Perceived Stress Scale (yes) - Resilience - 14-item Resilience Scale (no) - Job satisfaction - Maslach Burnout Inventory (yes) |
Blanco et al. [85] | US | Residency program | 1 group pre-post (multiple) | Compassionate care curriculum | Residents (n = 41) | - Empathy - Jefferson Scale of Physician's Empathy (no) - Interpersonal and communication skills – standardized patient encounter (yes – self-ratings; no – standardized patient rating) - Application of program to daily interactions with patients, etc. – journal (yes, but described barriers to relationship-centered care) - Usefulness of presentation - peer feedback tool (yes) |
Shih et al. [90] | TW | University medical school - palliative care | 1 group pre-post (survey) | Palliative care training course | Preclinical medical students (n = 251) | - Perception of compassionate care (mixed) - Knowledge of clinical management (yes) - Beliefs about ethical decision-making in palliative care (yes) |
Deloney, Graham [86] | US | University medical school | 1 group post-test (multiple) | Experiential learning module (drama - Wit Educational Initiative) with pre-play lecture, play, post-play lecture | First-year medical students (n = 138) | - Care provided by the physicians - email interaction (yes) - Module experience - Wit Educational Initiative Evaluation Survey (yes) - Drama’s relevance to clinical care - written assignment (yes) |
Kalish et al. [89] | US | University medical school - internal medicine | 1 group post-test (multiple) | Outpatient clinical skills training exercise | Third-year medical students (n = 11), standardized patients (n = 10) | - Compassionate care interactions – student tagged videotape (mixed) - Compassionate care – student compassionate care interactions questionnaire (mixed), patient-partner questionnaire (yes) - Course experience – student focus groups (yes) |
Adamson, Dewar [83] | UK | University nursing school | 1 group post-test (qualitative) | Stories used for reflective learning | Nursing students (n = 37) | - Reflective learning (yes) |