Provision of Compassionate and Empathic Care as a Well-Being Preservation Tool for Emergency Physicians: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Objective

Compassion and physician well-being are two key components related to quality care in health including emergency medicine. The objective of this study was to explore the impact of compassion in care on the well-being of emergency physicians. We conducted a scoping review to explore the impact of provision of compassionate care by emergency physicians on their well-being and subconcepts.

Methods

Four electronic databases and grey literature were searched to find evidence related to compassion, empathy, self-compassion, and their impact on emergency physicians’ well-being. Following title and abstract review, two reviewers independently screened full-text articles, and extracted data. Data were presented using descriptive statistics and a narrative analysis.

Results

A total of 803 reports were identified in databases. Three articles met eligibility criteria for data extraction. None directly examined compassion and well-being. Included studies addressed empathy and burnout in emergency medicine professionals.

Conclusion

No high-quality evidence could be found on the topic in the population of interest. Literature related to the topic of compassion in physicians, especially in emergency physicians, a field known for its high demand and stress levels, is currently scarce and additional evidence is needed to better describe and understand the association between physicians’ compassion and well-being.

Keywords:

• compassion fatigue
• emergency medicine
• empathy
• evidence-based emergency medicine
• physicians’ role

Abbreviations

CMA, Canadian Medical Association; CAEP, Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians; SAEM, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine; EPs, Emergency physicians; PRISMA-ScR, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews; CENTRAL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trial; MeSH, Medical Subject Headings; CF, Compassion fatigue; CS, Compassion satisfaction; JSE, Jefferson scale of empathy; COPSOQ, Copenhagen psychosocial questionnaire; MBI, Maslach burnout inventory.

Consent for Publication

All individuals named in the acknowledgements section below consented to being acknowledged in this publication. We did not include any other individual person’s data in any form.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the librarians of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Montréal Health Sciences Library and Mauricie Campus.

Author Contributions

All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, or in all these areas; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors report no potential conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

No source of funding to declare. All authors were independent in designing the study, interpreting its data, drafting, and publishing the article. The information provided and views expressed in this work are the responsibility of the authors alone.