Poster 35

[P-35-03] Effect of Cinemeducation on Empathy of Thai Clinical-Year Medical Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial

*Pichaya Tantaatipanit¹, Natee Viravan¹, Wuttipat Iammeechai^1,3, Karan Wongprakarnsanti² (1.Faculty of medicine siriraj hospital, mahidol university(Thailand), 2.Suanprung Psychiatric Hospital, Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health(Thailand), 3.MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, Massachusetts(United States of America))

Keywords:

Empathy,Medical student,Cinemeducation,Movie,Medical education

Background:Empathy in medical students often declines during training, potentially affecting patient care, professional growth, and well-being. Cinemeducation - using films and reflective discussion to promote emotional insight - is an emerging educational approach that may enhance empathy, though evidence remains limited and more research is needed to confirm broader impact. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of cinemeducation on empathy over time in Thai clinical-year medical students. Methods:Forty-seven clinical-year medical students were recruited and randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 23) or control group (n = 24). The intervention group joined a cinemeducation session that included viewing A Beautiful Mind and structured discussions before and after the screening. The control group followed the standard medical curriculum without additional activities. Empathy was measured using the validated Thai version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy - Student Version (JSE-S) at baseline, immediately post-session, and at 1- and 3-month follow-ups. Changes in empathy scores between groups were analyzed using repeated-measures regression. Results:Over three months, regression analysis showed a significant overall increase in empathy scores in the intervention group compared to the control group (beta = 5.18, p = 0.025). Supplementary t-tests showed significantly higher scores in the intervention group immediately post-intervention (mean difference = 10.68, p = 0.003), at one month (mean difference = 6.23, p = 0.015), and at three months (mean difference = 6.36, p = 0.079). Although empathy improved, scores declined gradually over time. Conclusions:A single cinemeducation session significantly enhanced empathy in medical students, with effects lasting up to three months. However, the declining trend suggests that longer follow-up or reinforcement interventions may be needed.