Network aims to drive forward global empathic healthcare
Professor Jeremy Howick
An international network set up to drive forward empathic healthcare has outlined bold objectives for the future.
The International Network for Empathy in Healthcare unites key organisations and leaders worldwide to place empathy at the heart of healthcare.
Spearheaded by the Stoneygate Centre at the University of Leicester, the network emphasizes an “urgent need” to establish empathic practice to avoid patient harm, reduce post-operative pain, improve poor medication adherence and avoid preventable mortality.
Empathic care is the willingness and capacity of health professionals to understand and share the feelings of patients and to provide care that meets their needs to help alleviate pain or suffering.
According to Professor Jeremy Howick, Director of the Stoneygate Centre, empathy is vital for delivering high-quality care, enhancing patient engagement, and supporting healthcare professionals’ wellbeing.
“Empathy improves patient outcomes and helps healthcare practitioners manage the pressures of their roles, reducing burnout and absenteeism,” said Professor Howick.
Now the network has set out a model for implementing empathy in Patient Education and Counseling.
Goals for the next five years include:
• Advocating for institution of Empathy Centres across all nations, especially in developing nations and others where none currently exist
• Organise training and teaching in the efficient, evidence-based methods for practitioners to deliver consistently high levels of empathy
• Refine, test, and evaluate frameworks for creating and auditing healthcare systems that foster empathic relationships between patients, practitioners, and teams
• Improve patient health outcomes (and improve patient safety) through enhanced empathy
• Improve practitioner wellbeing through enhanced empathy
• Liaise with and build on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) “Humanity, empathy and autonomy” initiative.
The Network also plans to host an international symposium to expand its reach and ensure global representation.
“We are thrilled to set these plans in motion and hope to inspire others to join us in transforming healthcare through empathy,” Professor Howick concluded.