Empathy in Patient Care Antecedents, Development, Measurement, and Outcomes [Hardcover]

Human beings, regardless of age, sex, or state of health, are designed by evolution to form meaningful interpersonal relationships through verbal and nonverbal communication. The theme that empathic human connections are beneficial to the body and mind underlies all 12 chapters of this book, in which empathy is viewed from a multidisciplinary perspective that includes evolutionary biology; neuropsychology; clinical, social, developmental, and educational psychology; and health care delivery and education.

Human beings are designed by evolution to form meaningful interpersonal relationships through verbal and nonverbal communication. This principle is the same whether the individual is male or female; an infant, a child, an adolescent, or an adult; or healthy or sick. The theme that empathic human connections are beneficial to the body and mind underlies all 12 chapters of this book, in which empathy is viewed from a multidisciplinary perspective that includes evolution; neuropsychology; clinical, social, developmental, and educational psychology; and health care delivery and education. Some theoretical aspects of antecedents, development, and outcomes of empathy are discussed, and relevant studies and empirical findings are presented in support of the theoretical discussion.

The following comments have been made about this book by experts and scholars:

Dr. Hojat wisely provides an agenda for future research ranging from selecting prospective medical students for their empathy to evaluating the neurobiological components of empathy and compassion. Hojats utopia wisely provides goals which medical practitioners and teachers can ponder and try to reach for in their daily activities. We are in his debt.

Howard Spiro, M.D., Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine (Excerpted from the books foreword)

This book is unique in combining an encyclol3B