Version 1
: Received: 5 February 2024 / Approved: 6 February 2024 / Online: 6 February 2024 (13:43:25 CET)
How to cite:
Savarese, G.; Carpinelli, L.; Stornaiuolo, G.; Bifulco, S.; Bruno, G.; Navarra, M. A Brief Report on the Correlation between Empathy and Gender Sensitivity among Italian Medical University Students. Preprints2024, 2024020360. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202402.0360.v1
Savarese, G.; Carpinelli, L.; Stornaiuolo, G.; Bifulco, S.; Bruno, G.; Navarra, M. A Brief Report on the Correlation between Empathy and Gender Sensitivity among Italian Medical University Students. Preprints 2024, 2024020360. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202402.0360.v1
Savarese, G.; Carpinelli, L.; Stornaiuolo, G.; Bifulco, S.; Bruno, G.; Navarra, M. A Brief Report on the Correlation between Empathy and Gender Sensitivity among Italian Medical University Students. Preprints2024, 2024020360. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202402.0360.v1
APA Style
Savarese, G., Carpinelli, L., Stornaiuolo, G., Bifulco, S., Bruno, G., & Navarra, M. (2024). A Brief Report on the Correlation between Empathy and Gender Sensitivity among Italian Medical University Students. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202402.0360.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Savarese, G., Giorgia Bruno and Marco Navarra. 2024 "A Brief Report on the Correlation between Empathy and Gender Sensitivity among Italian Medical University Students" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202402.0360.v1
Abstract
Background: Gender stereotypes and biases can influence perceptions of competence and suitability for certain medical specialties. Empathy is an important component of an optimal doctor-patient relationship. The scope of our study is to verify the correlation between “empathetic" behavioral style with attention and sensibility to the gender differences of patients of the medical students. Methods: An online survey was conducted using the Jefferson Scale for Empathy (JSE), to measure empathy in the context of health professions education and patient care; and the Nijmegen Gender Awareness in Medicine Scale (N-GAMS), which measures attitudes and assumptions about gender. A total of 234 students (52.1% M; mean age: 22.68±2.48) from Medicine and Surgery at the University of Salerno (Italy) participated, of whom n° 175 were third-year students and n° 59 were fifth-year students. Results: The JSE score shows that male students have higher scores (77.29±12.38) than females (75.91±10.39). Conversely, female students have higher perspective-taking (JSE Factor 1: Male= 51.26±11.84; Female= 52.72±11.88). In addition, third-year students are much more empathetic than their fifth-year colleagues (JSE Score: 3°ys= 77.35±11.46; 5°ys= 74.49±11.33). With reference to the GS, we found that male students have greater sensitivity than their female colleagues (GS: Male= 2.67±0.68; Female= 2.37±0.48); conversely, they have higher scores of gender stereotype towards patients (GRIP: Male= 2±0.88; Female= 1.59±0.61) and doctors (GRID: Male= 1.88±0.89; Female= 1.64±0.63). Also, the third-year students compared to their fifth-year colleagues are characterized by greater gender sensitivity (GS: 3°ys= 2.57±0.62; 5°ys= 2.42±0.57), less bias with respect to patients (GRIP: 3°ys= 1.77±0.79; 5°ys= 1.90±0.78) but, on the other hand, show more stereotypes and prejudices towards doctors (GRID: 3°ys= 1.77±0.81; 5°ys= 1.75±0.74). Conclusions: Humanistic attitudes, including empathy, should be instilled, and evaluated among trainees as an essential part of their postgraduate medical education.
Keywords
gender awareness; medical university students; empathy; gender stereotypes; medical-patient relation
Subject
Social Sciences, Psychology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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