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February 25, 2026CureusOpen Access

Introducing Compassionate Care to Undergraduate Health Science Students and Evaluating Its Implementation: A Pilot Study

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Authors

SRSpyridon RigatosUniversity of PatrasCLChristos LionisMGMary GouvaUniversity of Ioannina

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Implication

Pilot study evaluates distance-based compassionate care training's effect on empathy in health science students, suggesting beneficial outcomes.

Key Points

  • The study aims to assess the impact of an asynchronous digital course on empathy and compassionate care among undergraduate healthcare students.
  • Conducted a pilot pre- and post-intervention study with 50 undergraduate healthcare students.
  • Utilized convenience sampling due to the absence of a control group.
  • Implemented a five-module asynchronous digital course on compassionate care.
  • Assessed empathy and compassion using the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire and the Compassion Competence Scale.
  • Performed statistical analysis using non-parametric tests and correlation methods.
  • Median total empathy scores increased significantly from 47.00 to 55.00 (p<0.05).
  • The proportion of students with higher-than-normal empathy rose from 58% to 88% (p<0.05).
  • Significant improvements were observed in all dimensions of compassion competence: Communication, Sensitivity, and Insight.
  • Medical and Physiotherapy students showed pronounced improvements, narrowing competency gaps.

Cite This Study

Rigatos et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/699e9106f5123be5ed04e504https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.104092
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