Establishing the Construct Validity and Internal Consistency for Urdu Version of Jefferson Scale of Empathy-S (JSE-S)

Author(s): Muhammad SR

Empathy is known to result in better patients’ outcome. This study was conducted to establish the construct validity and internal consistency for Urdu translation of Jefferson Scale of Empathy, Student version(JSE-S), and to measure empathy among a sample of undergraduate medical students of Pakistan. The design of this study was cross-sectional and all the medical students of first through fifth year enrolled at Muhammad Medical College, Ibne Sina University, Mirpurkhas during the study period of 2019 were asked to fill the JSE-S translated into Urdu language. The identity of the participants was kept confidential. The Principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were calculated to check validity and reliability of the scale. ANOVA was used to examine the differences in empathy between gender, academic years, and specialty preferences. The mean empathy score was 107.22 (±12.844). The total empathy and mean empathy of Hojat’s 3 factors were calculated, they were highest for prospective taking (6.09 ± 0.694), then compassionate care (4.97 ± 0.97), and lowest for Standing in Patient’s shoes (3.63 ±1.51). The internal consistency reliability of the questionnaire had a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.684 and a Cronbach’s alpha based on standardized items of 0.704. There were significant associations between gender and empathy scores. The level of empathy in medical students gradually increased after clinical training in medical college. A nonsignificant difference was found between empathy scores and specialty preferences. It is suggested that the module of empathy should be included in the medical curriculum in Pakistan