Summary of Factor Analysis and Corrected Item-Total Score Correlations of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Profession Student Version (JSE-HPS) Administered to 187 Pharmacy Students
| Item (sequence in scale)a | Rotated Factor Coefficients | ||
| Factor 1 | Factor 2 | rit | |
| 1. Empathy is a therapeutic skill without which a health care providers' success is limited. (15) | 0.80 b | 0.08 | 0.50 |
| 2. Patients value a health care provider's understanding of their feelings which is therapeutic in its own right. (10) | 0.72 b | 0.12 | 0.47 |
| 3. Health care providers' understanding of the emotional status of their patients, as well as that of their families is one important component of the health care provider – patient relationship. (16) | 0.64 b | 0.40 | 0.69 |
| 4. Patients feel better when their health care providers understand their feelings. (2) | 0.59 b | 0.21 | 0.48 |
| 5. I believe that empathy is an important factor in patients' treatment. (20) | 0.52 b | 0.18 | 0.57 |
| 6. Health care providers should try to understand what is going on in their patients' minds by paying attention to their non-verbal cues and body language. (13) | 0.52 b | 0.12 | 0.55 |
| 7. I believe that emotion has no place in the treatment of medical illness. (14) | 0.52 b | 0.40 b | 0.59 |
| 8. Asking patients about what is happening in their personal lives is not helpful in understanding their physical complaints. (12) | 0.48 b | 0.56 b | 0.59 |
| 9. Understanding body language is as important as verbal communication in health care provider-patient relationships. (4) | 0.43 b | 0.20 b | 0.57 |
| 10. Health care providers should try to stand in their patients' shoes when providing care to them. (9) | 0.40 b | 0.36 b | 0.55 |
| 11. Health care providers should try to think like their patients in order to render better care. (17) | 0.39 b | 0.11 | 0.36 |
| 12. Health care providers' understanding of their patients' feelings and the feelings of their patients' families does not influence treatment outcomes. (1) | 0.04 | 0.77 b | 0.33 b |
| 13. Attentiveness of patients' personal experiences does not influence treatment outcomes. (8) | 0.16 | 0.74 b | 0.61 b |
| 14. Attention to patients' emotions is not important in patient interview. (7) | 0.23 | 0.73 b | 0.58 b |
| 15. Patients' illnesses can be cured only by targeted treatment; therefore, health care providers' emotional ties with their patients do not have a significant influence in treatment outcomes. (11) | 0.32 | 0.64b | 0.63b |
| 16. A health care provider's sense of humor contributes to a better clinical outcome. (5) | −0.03 | 0.10 | 0.25 |
| 17. Health care providers should not allow themselves to be influenced by strong personal bonds between patients and their family members. (18) | 0.07 | 0.10 | 0.17 |
| 18. I do not enjoy reading non-medical literature or the arts. (19) | 0.07 | 0.10 | 0.15 |
| 19. Because people are different, it is difficult to see things from patients' perspectives. (6) | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.10c |
| 20. It is difficult for a health care provider to view things from patients' perspectives. (3) | −0.01 | 0.01 | 0.09c |
| Eigenvalue | 6.2 | 1.6 | — |
| Percent of variance | 31% | 8% | — |
Abbreviations: rit = corrected item-total score correlations.
↵a Items are listed by descending order of magnitude of factor coefficients within each factor. Factor 1 is considered as a construct involving “perspective taking” and factor 2 as a construct involving “compassionate care.” Numbers in parentheses represent the sequence of the items in the actual scale.
↵b Factor coefficient ≥ 0.39.
↵c Nonsignificant, all other item-total score correlations are statistically significant (P < 0.05).