Analysis of Empathy in Certified Athletic Trainers Using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy.

Athletic trainers (ATs) are trained to provide patient-centered care using patient-centered communication. Expressing empathy is an essential component of patient-centered communication. There is a dearth of literature examining empathy in ATs. PURPOSE This study aimed to obtain a baseline measure of empathy among ATs using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy for Health Professionals (JSE-HP). METHODS The JSE-HP, previously validated, was distributed online to a random national sample of 3,000 ATs resulting in 302 responses (128 males, 174 females) after two reminders. Descriptive statistics, including score distributions and means, and inferential statistics testing the differences between males and females were used to analyze the data. RESULTS The average score on the JSE-HP for this sample of ATs was 111.70 ± 12.69. Statistically significant differences (t= -3.35 (227.6); p=0.001) between the males (108.78 ± 14.3) and females (113 ± 10.8) were found. CONCLUSION The mean empathy scores for this sample were lower than the mean scores of other health professionals. In addition, the mean scores for males and females were lower than mean scores of other health professionals. These results aid in understanding empathy levels among ATs and the need to obtain additional information with a larger sample.