Correlation analysis of empathy satisfaction and empathy, mental resilience, and social support in elderly patients with functional dyspepsia

Abstract

BACKGROUND The development direction of empathic satisfaction as helping industry is gradually shifting from medical personnel to patients. The level of empathy satisfaction is closely related to the levels of empathy ability, social support, and mental resilience. AIM To explore the correlation among empathy satisfaction, empathy ability, mental resilience, and social support in elderly patients with functional dyspepsia (FD). METHODS One hundred and thirty elderly patients with FD who were admitted to our hospital from June 2017 to August 2019 were selected as the study subjects. The professional quality of life scale, the Chinese-version Jefferson empathy scale, the comprehension social support scale, and the self-recovery strength scale were used for investigations. RESULTS The scores of empathy competence, mental resilience, social support, and empathy satisfaction in elderly FD patients were 106.94 ± 9.36, 35.72 ± 6.87, 67.83 ± 8.34, and 33.94 ± 4.90, respectively, all of which were positively correlated [r = 0.765- (-0.423), P < 0.05]. Regression analysis was conducted with empathy ability as the independent variable, mental resilience as the mediating variable, and empathy satisfaction as the dependent variable. The results showed that both empathy (β = 0.189, P < 0.01) and resilience (β = 0.282, P < 0.01) positively predicted empathy satisfaction, and the predictive effect of empathy on empathy satisfaction was decreasing (β = 0.153, P < 0.01), indicating that psychological resilience has a mediating effect between empathy ability and empathy satisfaction. The moderating effect test program of the mediating variable was used for multiple regression analysis, and equation 1 and equation 2 were established, respectively, with mental resilience and empathy satisfaction as the dependent variables. The results showed that in equation 1, the moderating effect of mental resilience on empathy × social support was not significant (β = -0.031, P > 0.05). In equation 2, empathy satisfaction had a significant moderating effect on psychological resilience × social support (β = 0.179, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION The level of empathy in elderly FD patients is low, which may be related to age and course of disease. Empathy ability, psychological resilience, social support, and empathy satisfaction are positively correlated, so we should attach importance to the role of psychological resilience in clinical work and provide a high level of social support, so as to improve the empathy satisfaction of elderly FD patients.