ArticleBMC pediatrics2018
Measuring empathy in pediatrics: validation of the Visual CARE measure.
Article in BMC pediatrics, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- An interdisciplinary intervention for children and adolescents with multiple referrals and complex health complaints: a feasibility study.BMC health services research · 2023Trial
- The Brazilian Version of the Visual CARE 5Q: Instrument Translation and Cultural Adaptation.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2026Article
- Article
- The Emotional and Psychological Impact on Families Raising Children With Special Needs: A Primary Care Perspective.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Validity and reliability of the 2-item version compared with the 10-item version of the Japanese consultation and relational empathy (CARE) measure: primary analysis of a cross-sectional survey.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Physician Empathy as Perceived by Parents of Children with Psychiatric Disorders: A Quantitative Analysis of Pediatric Consultations.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Validity and reliability of the Swedish version of the Visual CARE Measure for assessing children's perceptions of nurses' empathy.European journal of pediatrics · 2025Article
- Implementation of the WHO Standards to assess quality of paediatric care at the facility level using service users' perspective as source of data: a multicentre quality improvement study in Italy.BMJ paediatrics open · 2024Article
- Hospital healthcare experiences of children and young people with life-threatening or life-shortening conditions, and their parents: scoping reviews and resultant conceptual frameworks.BMC pediatrics · 2023Article
- A 2-item version of the Japanese Consultation and Relational Empathy measure: a pilot study using secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey in primary care.Family practice · 2022Article
- Article
- Bridging the Gap for Children With Compound Health Challenges: An Intervention Protocol.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2021Article
- Empathy in vaccination counselling: a survey on the impact of a three-day residential course.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEmpathy is a key element of "Patient and Family Centered Care", a clinical approach recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. However, there is a lack of validated tools to evaluate paediatrician empathy. This study aimed to validate the Visual CARE Measure, a patient rated questionnaire measuring physician empathy, in the setting of a Pediatric Emergency Department (ED).
methodsThe empathy of physicians working in the Pediatric ED of the University Hospital of Udine, Italy, was assessed using an Italian translation of the Visual Care Measure. This test has three versions suited to different age groups: the 5Q questionnaire was administered to children aged 7-11, the 10Q version to those older than 11, and the 10Q-Parent questionnaire to parents of children younger than 7. The internal reliability, homogeneity and construct validity of the 5Q and 10Q/10Q-Parent versions of the Visual Care Measure, were separately assessed. The influence of family background on the rating of physician empathy and satisfaction with the clinical encounter was also evaluated.
resultsSeven physicians and 416 children and their parents were included in the study. Internal consistency measured by Cronbach's alpha was 0.95 for the 10Q/10Q-Parent versions and 0.88 for the 5Q version. The item-total correlation was > 0.75 for each item. An exploratory factor analysis showed that all the items load onto the first factor. Physicians' empathy scores correlated with patients' satisfaction for both the 10Q and 10Q-Parent questionnaires (Spearman's rho = 0.7189; p < 0.001) and for the 5Q questionnaire (Spearman's rho = 0.5968; p < 0,001). Trust in the consulting physician was lower among immigrant parents (OR 0.43. 95% CI 0.20-0.93).
conclusionsThe Visual Care Measure is a reliable second-person test of physician empathy in the setting of a Pediatric Emergency Room. More studies are needed to evaluate the reliability of this instrument in other pediatric settings distinct from the Emergency Room and to further evaluate its utility in measuring the impact of communication and empathy training programmes for healthcare professionals working in pediatrics.
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