Impacts of Tai Chi on Empathy Levels in Healthcare Professionals: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

Background: Healthcare professionals may struggle with empathy, which can affect patient care. It is possible that Tai Chi, which includes physical activity and mindfulness, could potentially impact empathy levels. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Tai Chi on empathy levels in healthcare professionals, using the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire. Materials and Methods: Five females 18-60 years of age who were employed as healthcare workers in the United States for at least six months were asked to complete asynchronous virtual Tai Chi sessions for 30 minutes, two times a week, for 5 weeks. Each Tai Chi virtual session included safety reminders, a warm-up, a cool-down, and different Tai Chi moves integrated into a sequence of movements. The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire was utilized to assess the participants’ empathy levels pre-and post-intervention. Participants completed weekly progress logs to track engagement. Results: Based on the weekly progress logs, participants completed an average of 8 asynchronous virtual Tai Chi sessions over 5 weeks. Participants demonstrated an average increase of 4.2 points on the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire pre- to post-intervention (mean pretest TEQ score = 48.2; mean posttest TEQ score = 52.4). The participants’ average scores on the TEQ posttest averaged 3.47 points above the typical female score range. Conclusion: Results suggest the potential value of Tai Chi for enhancing empathy levels in healthcare professionals. Future studies should integrate larger sample sizes, and qualitative approaches to data collection focused on participants' perspectives regarding their displayed empathy levels. Another suggestion is synchronous Tai Chi sessions, which could increase participant accountability.