The correlation between alexithymia and communication skills among undergraduate pharmacy students

Awareness of self-emotions and the emotions of others is a key factor in ensuring that health professionals communicate effectively with patients. This is of great importance for pharmacists, who, as primary healthcare providers, depend daily on effective communication to ensure the best therapeutic...

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Main Authors: Amjad H. Bazzari, Firas H. Bazzari
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:Heliyon
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024174336
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author Amjad H. Bazzari
Firas H. Bazzari
author_facet Amjad H. Bazzari
Firas H. Bazzari
author_sort Amjad H. Bazzari
collection DOAJ
description Awareness of self-emotions and the emotions of others is a key factor in ensuring that health professionals communicate effectively with patients. This is of great importance for pharmacists, who, as primary healthcare providers, depend daily on effective communication to ensure the best therapeutic outcomes. Here, we aimed to evaluate the level of alexithymia, its correlation with communication skills and associated demographics in a university sample of undergraduate pharmacy students. The study utilized a printed questionnaire consisting of three parts: demographics, the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ), and the Health Professionals Communication Skills Scale (HP-CSS). A total of 212 students participated with a mean age of 21.59 ± 3.38 years, including males (n = 88, 41.5 %) and females (n = 124, 58.5 %). The results revealed moderate alexithymia levels and relatively satisfactory communication skills among the participants. Males had higher alexithymia scores and lower communication skills compared to females. Self-reported GPA values negatively correlated with alexithymia level but not with communication skills. The level of alexithymia negatively correlated with total communication skills, irrespective of gender, and the four dimensions of communication. In conclusion, alexithymia is negatively correlated with communication skills among undergraduate pharmacy students, highlighting the necessity of emotional awareness in patient communication and care.
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spelling doaj-art-e182b14de4204a0e81fff3e8b373976c2025-01-17T04:51:10ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402025-01-01111e41402The correlation between alexithymia and communication skills among undergraduate pharmacy studentsAmjad H. Bazzari0Firas H. Bazzari1Department of Basic Scientific Sciences, Faculty of Science, Applied Science Private University, Amman, 11931, Jordan; Corresponding author.Faculty of Pharmacy, Jerash University, Jerash, 26150, JordanAwareness of self-emotions and the emotions of others is a key factor in ensuring that health professionals communicate effectively with patients. This is of great importance for pharmacists, who, as primary healthcare providers, depend daily on effective communication to ensure the best therapeutic outcomes. Here, we aimed to evaluate the level of alexithymia, its correlation with communication skills and associated demographics in a university sample of undergraduate pharmacy students. The study utilized a printed questionnaire consisting of three parts: demographics, the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ), and the Health Professionals Communication Skills Scale (HP-CSS). A total of 212 students participated with a mean age of 21.59 ± 3.38 years, including males (n = 88, 41.5 %) and females (n = 124, 58.5 %). The results revealed moderate alexithymia levels and relatively satisfactory communication skills among the participants. Males had higher alexithymia scores and lower communication skills compared to females. Self-reported GPA values negatively correlated with alexithymia level but not with communication skills. The level of alexithymia negatively correlated with total communication skills, irrespective of gender, and the four dimensions of communication. In conclusion, alexithymia is negatively correlated with communication skills among undergraduate pharmacy students, highlighting the necessity of emotional awareness in patient communication and care.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024174336Social skillsPharmacy practiceFeelingsBehaviorEducation
spellingShingle Amjad H. Bazzari
Firas H. Bazzari
The correlation between alexithymia and communication skills among undergraduate pharmacy students
Heliyon
Social skills
Pharmacy practice
Feelings
Behavior
Education
title The correlation between alexithymia and communication skills among undergraduate pharmacy students
title_full The correlation between alexithymia and communication skills among undergraduate pharmacy students
title_fullStr The correlation between alexithymia and communication skills among undergraduate pharmacy students
title_full_unstemmed The correlation between alexithymia and communication skills among undergraduate pharmacy students
title_short The correlation between alexithymia and communication skills among undergraduate pharmacy students
title_sort correlation between alexithymia and communication skills among undergraduate pharmacy students
topic Social skills
Pharmacy practice
Feelings
Behavior
Education
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024174336
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