'Walking in their shoes'
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Walking in Their Shoes’ - A randomised controlled trial of an education intervention on empathy among health professionals
IRAS ID
258688
Contact name
Juping Yu
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of South Wales
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 3 months, 30 days
Research summary
The Francis report (2013) and Andrew and Butler report (2014) have revealed serious failings in empathetic care in the UK. Also, current health and social policies highlights the importance of empathy, respect, dignity and compassionate in health and social care (Welsh Government, 2015). In addition, the proportion of people living aged 65 or over in Wales is amongst the highest in the UK (Welsh Government, 2013a) and as older people often suffer from frailty or illnesses, they are more likely to require care and support. There is an increasing focus on improving the quality and safety of health and social care services in Wales (Welsh Government, 2018a), with emphasis on ensuring that individuals receive dignified and empathetic, compassionate care (Welsh Government, 2013b; Dewar & Nolan, 2013). The overall aim of this study is to explore how empathy levels of health professionals can be improved and sustained. It aims to build a learning resource using healthcare stories from older people and their families reflecting their experiences of the healthcare service. A randomised controlled trail design will be used to test this learning resource to investigate whether empathy levels of health professionals will be promoted and sustained over time.
REC name
London - Westminster Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1672
Date of REC Opinion
5 Nov 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion