Pregledni rad
COMPASSION AS THE ADDED VALUE OF HEALTH CARE
IVAN ŠKLEBAR
orcid.org/0000-0002-4557-7626
; Klinička bolnica Sveti Duh, Klinika za anesteziologuju, reanimatologiju i intenzivno liječenje, Zagreb, Hrvatsko katoličko sveučilište, Zagreb, Sveuilište J. J. Strossmayera u Osijeku, Medicinski fakultet Osijek, Veleučilište u Bjelovaru, Bjelovar, Hrvats
DUŠKA ŠKLEBAR
; Veleučilište u Bjelovaru, Bjelovar, i Klinička bolnica Merkur, Sveučilišna klinika Vuk Vrhovac, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
In the past few years, there were many papers in the biomedical literature studying the effects of various emotional interactions between healthcare professionals and patients regarding treatment outcomes, total cost of care and effects on healthcare workers themselves. The interest in this area is also shared by the wider public because of the widespread belief that modern medicine has become depersonalized and distant from emotional involvement and compassion. Today, there is considerable evidence from relevant research suggesting that compassionate care brings additional value to therapeutic procedures. The study of these benefi ts, their mechanisms of action and effects on treatment outcome, as well as on healthcare providers is called ‘compassionomics’. Compassion in this context means not only emotional response to the other’s suffering, but also the willingness to help the patient. By contrast, the term empathy, often used as a synonym of the concept of compassion, refers only to understanding and being affected with the other’s suffering. Positive effects on the outcome of patients treated in an environment that fosters a culture of compassionate care are likely to be achieved through a greater degree of trust between physicians and other healthcare professionals and patients, resulting in stronger mobilization of neuroendocrine and immune defense mechanisms that can contribute to healing or alleviating the symptoms of the disease. Better compliance to therapeutic recommendations has also been noted. These favorable effects are also refl ected in reducing the length of hospital stay and frequency of readmission, thus reducing the cost of treatment. Although it may seem that relationship to patients involving more emotion and compassion would lead healthcare workers faster to burnout syndrome, preliminary research suggests the opposite. It is interpreted by the fact that better outcome of treatment as a result of the more emotional and professional involvement of healthcare professionals comes as a reward
that provides fulfi llment of their human and professional mission and thus ultimately causes less pronounced burnout syndrome. All of this is the backbone of the theory of ‘multiplying’ the positive effect of compassion on all stakeholders in healthcare. If this theory is correct, then there is the need for creation and implementation of appropriate educational programs through which a therapeutic approach based on the culture of active and effective compassion will be designed. The effectiveness of such programs can be measured by appropriate tools that measure patient satisfaction, satisfaction of healthcare professionals and other interested parties. More objective indicators can be obtained by measuring the outcome of treatment, thus entering the sphere of the evidence-based medicine. In many aspects, this concept is still hypothetical and based in particular on observational studies. Compassionomics strives to make this area a subject of serious scientific expertise in which it is increasingly successful. Active compassion has its place in every medical activity, both curative and palliative, because it cares for the holistic approach with the patient in the center, with full social responsibility and high moral and ethical standards of profession. Since all healthcare systems, including ours, are constantly in the midst of increased needs and limited resources, the understanding of the multiple positive effects of compassion offers new hope for rationalization and sustainability of the healthcare system and its further development in the direction of increasing humanity.
Ključne riječi
compassion; empathy; compasionate healthcare; compassionomics
Hrčak ID:
218961
URI
Datum izdavanja:
4.4.2019.
Posjeta: 1.756 *