Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23336477›Full record

SynthesisThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2013

Effectiveness of empathy in general practice: a systematic review.

Frans Derksen, Jozien Bensing, Antoine Lagro-Janssen

3 registry-linked trialsAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 405 papers, 17 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
405citing papers in PubMed, 17 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT04595708 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2020, after this paper: background citation

Telephone Calls for Health for Homebound Older Adults

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of Texas at AustinRan2020 to 2020Enrolled240ConditionsLoneliness, Social Isolation, DepressionArmsPhone Call
NCT05581381 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2021, after this paper: background citation

Exploring the Effect of Empathy Training Program for Nurses

TypeinterventionalSponsorNational Taipei University of Nursing and Health SciencesRan2021 to 2022Enrolled60ConditionsEmpathyArmsempathy training program
NCT07407413 naactive not recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

The Edu:Social Health Care Project: Investigating the Effects of an Online Socio-emotional Dyad Intervention on Healthcare Students' Mental Health, Resilience, Social Competencies and Behaviors

TypeinterventionalSponsorMax Planck Social Neuroscience LabRan2026 to 2026Enrolled360ConditionsIntervention Condition, Control (Delayed Training) ConditionArmsExperimental: Empathy- and compassion-based socio-emotional mental training (EmCo), Waitlist Control Group (WCG)
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

405 citing papers in PubMed, 17 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  9. Personal GP continuity improves healthcare outcomes in primary care populations: a systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025
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345 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Frans DerksenRadboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, The Netherlands. fderksen@knmg.nl
Jozien Bensing
Antoine Lagro-Janssen

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEmpathy as a characteristic of patient-physician communication in both general practice and clinical care is considered to be the backbone of the patient-physician relationship. Although the value of empathy is seldom debated, its effectiveness is little discussed in general practice. This literature review explores the effectiveness of empathy in general practice. Effects that are discussed are: patient satisfaction and adherence, feelings of anxiety and stress, patient enablement, diagnostics related to information exchange, and clinical outcomes.

aimTo review the existing literature concerning all studies published in the last 15 years on the effectiveness of physician empathy in general practice. DESIGN AND

settingSystematic literature search.

methodSearches of PubMed, EMBASE, and PsychINFO databases were undertaken, with citation searches of key studies and papers. Original studies published in English between July 1995 and July 2011, containing empirical data about patient experience of GPs' empathy, were included. Qualitative assessment was applied using Giacomini and Cook's criteria.

resultsAfter screening the literature using specified selection criteria, 964 original studies were selected; of these, seven were included in this review after applying quality assessment. There is a good correlation between physician empathy and patient satisfaction and a direct positive relationship with strengthening patient enablement. Empathy lowers patients' anxiety and distress and delivers significantly better clinical outcomes.

conclusionAlthough only a small number of studies could be used in this search, the general outcome seems to be that empathy in the patient-physician communication in general practice is of unquestionable importance.

Indexed as

EmpathyGeneral PracticePhysician-Patient RelationsAnxietyCommunicationFemaleHumansMaleMedication AdherenceNetherlandsOutcome Assessment, Health CarePatient SatisfactionStress, Psychological

Identifiers

PMID23336477
PMCPMC3529296

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.