Empathy in healthcare professionals is associated with better treatment outcomes and higher satisfaction among patients with chronic pain. Activity patterns play an essential role in the adjustment of these patients and, as a pain behaviour, may have a communicative function and elicit distinct empathic responses. This study investigated whether the activity pattern profiles characteristic of these patients had differential effects on the empathic response (empathic distress and compassion/sympathy) of future healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals should improve their knowledge about the role of different activity patterns in the well-being of people with chronic pain and receive specific training in empathic skills. We controlled for several variables that could affect the empathic response (sex, age, academic degree, previous experience of chronic pain, and dispositional empathy).A total of 228 undergraduates performed an experimental task using vignettes depicting four activity pattern profiles displayed by people with chronic pain and completed questionnaires measuring dispositional and situational empathy. We conducted a MANCOVA analysis.Undergraduates showed more compassion/sympathy toward the medium cycler profile than toward the doer profile. Participants' age was associated with empathic distress. Sex, academic degree, and previous experiences with chronic pain were not associated with their empathic response to the vignettes. Dispositional perspective-taking and empathic concern were significantly associated with compassion/sympathy responses, and personal distress was significantly associated with empathic distress.Activity pattern profiles may have a communicative function and elicit different empathic responses toward people with chronic pain. Individual differences in dispositional empathy play an important role on situational empathic responses.

中文翻译：

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慢性疼痛患者的活动模式如何影响未来卫生专业人员的移情反应：一项实验研究。

医疗保健专业人员的同理心与慢性疼痛患者更好的治疗结果和更高的满意度相关。活动模式在这些患者的调整中发挥着重要作用，并且作为一种疼痛行为，可能具有交流功能并引起不同的共情反应。这项研究调查了这些患者的活动模式特征是否对未来医疗保健专业人员的共情反应（共情痛苦和同情/同情）有不同的影响。医疗保健专业人员应提高对不同活动模式对慢性疼痛患者福祉的作用的了解，并接受共情技能的具体培训。我们控制了几个可能影响共情反应的变量（性别、年龄、学历、以前的慢性疼痛经历和性情共情）。共有 228 名本科生使用小插图执行了一项实验任务，这些小插图描绘了患有共情反应的人展示的四种活动模式概况。慢性疼痛并完成测量性格和情境同理心的调查问卷。我们进行了 MANCOVA 分析。本科生对中等循环者形象比对实干者形象表现出更多的同情/同情。参与者的年龄与共情困扰有关。性别、学历和以前的慢性疼痛经历与他们对小插曲的共情反应无关。性格观点采择和共情关注与同情心/同情反应显着相关，个人痛苦与共情痛苦显着相关。活动模式概况可能具有交流功能，并对慢性疼痛患者引发不同的共情反应。性格共情的个体差异对情境共情反应起着重要作用。