[
    {
        "id": "osp-10848",
        "type": "article-journal",
        "title": "Measuring Empathy Levels among Kurdish Medical Students in Erbil City, Iraq: Cross-sectional study",
        "author": [
            {
                "family": "Raof",
                "given": "Awring M."
            },
            {
                "family": "Yassin",
                "given": "Bervian A."
            }
        ],
        "URL": "https://omanscience.com/ar/articles/measuring-empathy-levels-among-kurdish-medical-students-in-erbil-city-iraq-cross-sectional-study",
        "language": "en",
        "issued": {
            "date-parts": [
                [
                    2025
                ]
            ]
        },
        "container-title": "Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal",
        "volume": "16",
        "issue": "1",
        "page": "62-67",
        "DOI": "10.18295/squmj.2016.16.01.011",
        "publisher": "Sultan Qaboos University",
        "ISSN": "2075-051X",
        "abstract": "Objectives: Empathy is a crucial attribute within the physician-patient relationship. This study aimed to evaluate the empathy levels of students in the College of Medicine at Hawler Medical University (HMU) in Erbil city, Iraq. Methods: This cross-sectional study took place between January and May 2015 and included all medical undergraduates enrolled at HMU (n = 989). The validated self-administered English language version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Student Version (JSPE-SV) was used to measure empathy levels. Students reported their conformity to each statement of the 20-item questionnaire on a 7-point Likert scale. Levels of empathy were considered directly relative to their final score. Results: A total of 927 students completed the questionnaire (response rate: 93.7%). The male-to-female ratio was 0.72:1 and the mean age was 21.3 ± 1.4 years. The mean empathy score was 101.9 ± 19.2. Female students had significantly higher empathy (P = 0.023) and more frequently chose people-oriented specialties (P = 0.001) than males. First-year students reported the highest mean score (112.9 ± 20.1) while fourth-year students had the lowest (92.7 ± 16.0). There was a significant decline in mean scores between first- and second-year male students (P = 0.020) and first- and fourth-year male students (P = 0.050). Students who chose people-oriented specialties had significantly higher scores than those who chose technology-oriented specialties (P = 0.002). Conclusion: The studied cohort of HMU students demonstrated low empathy levels. As such, the inclusion of empathy instruction in medical school curricula is recommended to promote professionalism and patient welfare."
    }
]