IADR Abstract Archives
Empathy and Professional Quality of Life Among Israeli Hygienists
Objectives: Professional quality of life has been studied intensely among physicians, nurses and dentists with only few studies relating to dental hygienists. The present study aims to examine the factors that affect empathy and professional quality of life of dental hygienists in Israel and explore their relationships with coping strategies.
Methods: Invitations to participate in the study were distributed in 2022 through social media to licensed dental hygienists working in Israel. Hygienists who responded to the invitation were requested to complete the following questionnaires: 1. Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy – Health Professionals (JSPE-HP); 2. Professional Quality of Life (ProQoL) which measures professional burnout (BO), compassion satisfaction (CS), and secondary traumatic stress (STS); 3. Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) which measures 3 coping dimensions- task-focused coping (TC), emotional-focused coping (EC) and avoidance-focused coping (AC).
Results: 127dental hygienists fully completed the requested questionnaires. A series of linear regression analyses showed that the best predictors of subjects’ empathy were task-oriented coping and burnout (R2= 0.19. F(2.104)=12.84, p<0.01); best predictors of burnout were secondary traumatic stress, compassion satisfaction, empathy, and age (R2= 0.57. F(4.97)=32.67, p<0.01); the best predictors of secondary traumatic stress were emotion-focused coping and burnout (R2= 0.36. F(2.100)=28.22, p<0.01) and the best predictors of compassion satisfaction were task-focused coping, burnout and emotion-focused coping (R2= 0.48. F (3.98) =30.32, p<0.01).
Conclusions: Hygienists’ empathy, quality of life and coping strategies are interrelated and should be explored in more depth.
Methods: Invitations to participate in the study were distributed in 2022 through social media to licensed dental hygienists working in Israel. Hygienists who responded to the invitation were requested to complete the following questionnaires: 1. Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy – Health Professionals (JSPE-HP); 2. Professional Quality of Life (ProQoL) which measures professional burnout (BO), compassion satisfaction (CS), and secondary traumatic stress (STS); 3. Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) which measures 3 coping dimensions- task-focused coping (TC), emotional-focused coping (EC) and avoidance-focused coping (AC).
Results: 127dental hygienists fully completed the requested questionnaires. A series of linear regression analyses showed that the best predictors of subjects’ empathy were task-oriented coping and burnout (R2= 0.19. F(2.104)=12.84, p<0.01); best predictors of burnout were secondary traumatic stress, compassion satisfaction, empathy, and age (R2= 0.57. F(4.97)=32.67, p<0.01); the best predictors of secondary traumatic stress were emotion-focused coping and burnout (R2= 0.36. F(2.100)=28.22, p<0.01) and the best predictors of compassion satisfaction were task-focused coping, burnout and emotion-focused coping (R2= 0.48. F (3.98) =30.32, p<0.01).
Conclusions: Hygienists’ empathy, quality of life and coping strategies are interrelated and should be explored in more depth.