Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2003; 8: 153
This paper reports the development of a holistic consultation process measure based around the concept of empathy.
An initial version was derived from interviews with patients attending the Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital (GHH) and tested in pilot studies at the GHH and in primary care.
The initial version correlated well with Barrett–Lennard Empathy Scale (r = 0.77, n = 60) and the Horvath Therapeutic relationship Scale (r = 0.66, n = 60) at GHH. In the first primary care pilot, the scale correlated with the Reynolds Empathy Measure (r = 0.85, n = 20) and the Barrett–Lennard Empathy Scale (0.63, n = 41), and with the depth of relationship factor of the CSQ (r = 0.70, n = 41) (All P < 0.001). Divergent validity was supported by lower correlations between the scale and other measures distinct from empathy. Test–retest reliability at 3–4 weeks r = 0.77 (n = 45, P < 0.001). The distribution of scores, however, was markedly skewed. Statistical analysis, patients’ views (33 interviews), and expert opinion, were used to refine the measure. The second version showed similar validity and reliability results as the first, but a much less skewed distribution. Internal reliability was high (Cronbach’s α = 0.94) and the 10 items reduced to a single factor with factor analysis.
These preliminary results support the validity and reliability of this new holistic consultation measure.
