摘要：Background Empathy is often considered an important trait for professionals in the health field. Empathy amongst physicians, medical students, and nurses has been investigated previously while studies examining the empathy levels in allied health students are non-existent. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of empathy amongst undergraduate students in six allied health professions – emergency health (paramedic), nursing, midwifery, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and health sciences at one Australian University. Methods A convenience sample of undergraduate students enrolled in six allied health courses across the first, second, and third year levels at Monash University were surveyed. Students completed the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (HP-version), a valid and reliable self-report scale, and a brief demographic form. Analysis of mean scores, t-test, and one-way ANOVA were used to evaluate the extent of empathy amongst the student groups. Results There were 459 students who participated. Females were found to be significantly more empathic than males (p=0.002) with a significant difference between age groups (p=0.039). No significant difference between year level of study, and professional course of study was found and, as such, the results overall show the extent of empathy to be more similar than different across the six allied health undergraduate students groups. Conclusion This study suggests a strong presence of empathy amongst allied health science students. Females were found to be more empathic than males with little difference between the course students were enrolled in and year of study.
