Assessing the effects of an empathy education program using psychometric instruments and brain fMRI

Kangmoon Kim, Sang Hee Kim, Heung Sik Yoon, Hyoung Seok Shin, Young Mee Lee

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    4 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This study aimed to (1) evaluate the effects of an empathy education program, and (2) explore functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as a potential empathy assessment tool. An empathy enhancement program for premedical students was developed. The Korean version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Student version (JSE-S) and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (K-IRI) were used to measure self-assessed changes in empathy. Clinical vignettes demonstrating empathy tasks were presented to participants undergoing fMRI, to assess regional changes in the brain. Self-reported empathy scores and brain activity signals using fMRI from before and after the program were compared. The JSE-S total and perspective taking scores significantly increased after the program. Data from the fMRI revealed noticeable differences in cognitive regions associated with empathy, namely the right superior medial frontal gyrus and left precentral gyrus. This study results support the prior evidence of positive impact of empathy education. In addition, the authors suggest that brain fMRI might be used in measuring the effectiveness of empathy education.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)283-295
    Number of pages13
    JournalAdvances in Health Sciences Education
    Volume25
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2020 May 1

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2019, Springer Nature B.V.

    Keywords

    • Education, medical
    • Empathy
    • Magnetic resonance imaging
    • Students, medical

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Education

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