Improving Patient Engagement Outcomes: A Pilot Study to Investigate the Role of Empathy in Scientific Writing
Author(s)
Martha Gauthier, MA1, Heather Nyce, PhD2, Susan Daniels, PhC, RPH, MA3, Laura Watts, PhD2;
1Lumanity Inc., Boston, MA, USA, 2Lumanity Inc., Yardley, PA, USA, 3Lumanity Inc., Franham, United Kingdom
1Lumanity Inc., Boston, MA, USA, 2Lumanity Inc., Yardley, PA, USA, 3Lumanity Inc., Franham, United Kingdom
OBJECTIVES: Numerous studies have shown that written patient education materials often fail to meet the needs of patients. However, most of these studies focused on the readability of scientific literature. The perception of empathy in healthcare is associated with improved patient satisfaction, treatment adherence, and improved clinical outcomes. To our knowledge, no metric exists to evaluate empathy in written scientific material. This study aimed to identify features of scientific writing that patients identify as empathetic.
METHODS: Individuals identifying as patients or patient advocates completed an online survey to rate 6 scientific writing samples using a 5-point Likert scale assessing 11 distinct features, including comprehensibility, tone, and the empathetic nature by which the disease state and study results were described. Associations between these 11 features and perceived empathy were compared using regression analysis. Participants reported their top 3 features for conveying empathy in scientific writing.
RESULTS: Twelve participants representing 6 therapeutic areas, 58% female, 83% ≥bachelor’s degree completed the survey. Use of an empathetic description of the disease exhibited the strongest correlation with perceived empathy in the writing samples (R2: 0.991; p<0.001). Participants most frequently reported patient-first language (50%) as the most important feature to convey empathy in scientific writing. Of 8 standardized readability metrics, the SMOG index showed the strongest correlation with empathy (R2: 0.823).
CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating empathetic language, specifically patient-first language, can enhance the perceived empathy of scientific materials, potentially improving their accessibility and impact. These findings may inform other modes of patient engagement (e.g. outreach materials and data collection tools, such as surveys or interview guides) to refine language and improve the empathy conveyed. In the absence of an empathy metric, the SMOG index may provide insight into the extent to which writing may be perceived as empathet
METHODS: Individuals identifying as patients or patient advocates completed an online survey to rate 6 scientific writing samples using a 5-point Likert scale assessing 11 distinct features, including comprehensibility, tone, and the empathetic nature by which the disease state and study results were described. Associations between these 11 features and perceived empathy were compared using regression analysis. Participants reported their top 3 features for conveying empathy in scientific writing.
RESULTS: Twelve participants representing 6 therapeutic areas, 58% female, 83% ≥bachelor’s degree completed the survey. Use of an empathetic description of the disease exhibited the strongest correlation with perceived empathy in the writing samples (R2: 0.991; p<0.001). Participants most frequently reported patient-first language (50%) as the most important feature to convey empathy in scientific writing. Of 8 standardized readability metrics, the SMOG index showed the strongest correlation with empathy (R2: 0.823).
CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating empathetic language, specifically patient-first language, can enhance the perceived empathy of scientific materials, potentially improving their accessibility and impact. These findings may inform other modes of patient engagement (e.g. outreach materials and data collection tools, such as surveys or interview guides) to refine language and improve the empathy conveyed. In the absence of an empathy metric, the SMOG index may provide insight into the extent to which writing may be perceived as empathet
Conference/Value in Health Info
2025-05, ISPOR 2025, Montréal, Quebec, CA
Value in Health, Volume 28, Issue S1
Code
PCR239
Topic
Patient-Centered Research
Topic Subcategory
Patient Engagement
Disease
No Additional Disease & Conditions/Specialized Treatment Areas