| Items | Mean | SD | minimum | maximum | Agree% | Disagree% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Health care providers' understanding of their patients' feelings and the feelings of their patients' families does not influence treatment outcome | *4.84 | 2.13 | 1 | 7 | 30.2 | 60.9 |
| 2. Patients feel better when their health care providers understand their feelings | 4.92 | 2.02 | 1 | 7 | 60.9 | 28.2 |
| 3. It is difficult for a health care provider to view things from patients' perspectives | *4.17 | 1.66 | 1 | 7 | 29.7 | 43.6 |
| 4. Understanding body language is as important as verbal communication in health care provider - patient relationships. | 4.64 | 1.93 | 1 | 7 | 56.9 | 29.2 |
| 5. A health care provider's sense of humor contributes to a better clinical outcome | 4.99 | 1.93 | 1 | 7 | 67.3 | 21.3 |
| 6. Because people are different, it is difficult to see things from patients' perspectives | *3.70 | 1.96 | 1 | 7 | 48.0 | 35.1 |
| 7. Attention to patients' emotions is not important in patient interview | *5.16 | 2.09 | 1 | 7 | 23.3 | 63.9 |
| 8. Attentiveness to patients' personal experiences does not influence treatment outcomes | *4.67 | 1.98 | 1 | 7 | 30.2 | 56.9 |
| 9. Health care providers should try to stand in their patients' shoes when providing care to them | 5.08 | 1.94 | 1 | 7 | 64.9 | 22.8 |
| 10. Patients value a health care provider's understanding of their feelings which is therapeutic in its own right. | 4.65 | 1.91 | 1 | 7 | 53.5 | 27.7 |
| 11. Patients' illnesses can be cured only by targeted treatment; therefore, health care providers' emotional ties with their patients do not have a significant influence in treatment outcomes | *4.81 | 2.19 | 1 | 7 | 30.7 | 59.9 |
| 12. Asking patients about what is happening in their personal lives is not helpful in understanding their physical complaints | *4.66 | 1.88 | 1 | 7 | 30.2 | 55.9 |
| 13. Health care providers should try to understand what is going on in their patients' minds by paying attention to their non-verbal cues and body language | 4.53 | 1.77 | 1 | 7 | 49.5 | 29.2 |
| 14. I believe that emotion has no place in the treatment of medical illness | *4.98 | 2.03 | 1 | 7 | 26.7 | 62.4 |
| 15. Empathy is a therapeutic skill without which a health care provider's success is limited. | 4.55 | 1.82 | 1 | 7 | 50.0 | 29.2 |
| 16. Health care providers' understanding of the emotional status of their patients, as well as that of their families is one important component of the health care provider – patient relationship | 4.86 | 1.75 | 1 | 7 | 61.9 | 24.3 |
| 17. Health care providers should try to think like their patients in order to render better care | 4.64 | 1.82 | 1 | 7 | 52.0 | 23.3 |
| 18. Health care providers should not allow themselves to be influenced by strong personal bonds between their patients and their family members | *3.75 | 1.71 | 1 | 7 | 39.6 | 30.2 |
| 19. I do not enjoy reading non-medical literature or the arts | *4.35 | 2.16 | 1 | 7 | 39.1 | 50.5 |
| 20. I believe that empathy is an important factor in patients' treatment | 5.00 | 1.92 | 1 | 7 | 67.3 | 24.3 |
| Total Empathy Score | 92.9 | 16.40 | 50 | 134 |