Examining the relationship between empathy and burnout in dental students: a systematic review.

IF 2.3 Q3 Dentistry

Evidence-based dentistry Pub Date : 2025-08-08 DOI:10.1038/s41432-025-01182-z

Sviatlana Anishchuk, Aidan Seery

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives: Empathy has an important role in the patient-clinician relationship. However, there is a risk of an emotional overabundance, which can lead to a burnout and exhaustion. The nature of its relationship is yet not clear. This study aims to investigate the relationship between empathy and burnout in dental undergraduate students.

Methods: A systematic review was carried out in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) using electronic searches on electronic databases: PubMed (PMC), Taylor and Francis, Google Scholar and EBSCO. The databases were examined for studies that were published in English language from 2012 to 2022.

Results: There were 2375 articles in total. The studies that only assessed empathy or burnout and targeted other than dental cohorts were excluded from the list. Any studies that were not in English language and had been published before 2012 were also excluded. As a result, only 2 studies were selected for further analysis.

Conclusion: Based on this review it can be assumed that the level of burnout depends on the level of empathy in dental cohort students; low empathy can predict high burnout. However, further research is necessary to confirm this relationship.

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牙科学生共情与倦怠的关系研究：系统回顾。

目的：共情在医患关系中具有重要作用。然而，情绪过剩的风险是存在的，这可能会导致精疲力竭。二者关系的性质尚不清楚。本研究旨在探讨牙科大学生共情与职业倦怠的关系。方法：采用电子检索PubMed （PMC）、Taylor and Francis、谷歌Scholar和EBSCO等电子数据库，按照系统评价和荟萃分析首选报告项目（PRISMA）进行系统评价。数据库检查了从2012年到2022年用英语发表的研究。结果：共纳入文献2375篇。那些只评估同理心或倦怠的研究，以及针对牙科以外的人群的研究，被排除在名单之外。2012年之前发表的非英语研究也被排除在外。因此，仅选择2项研究进行进一步分析。结论：基于本综述，可以假设牙科队列学生的职业倦怠水平与共情水平有关；低同理心预示着高倦怠。然而，需要进一步的研究来证实这种关系。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Evidence-based dentistry Dentistry-Dentistry (all)

CiteScore

2.50

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Evidence-Based Dentistry delivers the best available evidence on the latest developments in oral health. We evaluate the evidence and provide guidance concerning the value of the author''s conclusions. We keep dentistry up to date with new approaches, exploring a wide range of the latest developments through an accessible expert commentary. Original papers and relevant publications are condensed into digestible summaries, drawing attention to the current methods and findings. We are a central resource for the most cutting edge and relevant issues concerning the evidence-based approach in dentistry today. Evidence-Based Dentistry is published by Springer Nature on behalf of the British Dental Association.