# Adaptation of the Consultation and Relational Empathy Measure to Turkish

## TL;DR

This study adapts a tool for measuring physician empathy into Turkish and confirms its validity and reliability for use in Turkey.

## Contribution

The study provides a validated Turkish version of the CARE measure for assessing physician empathy.

## Key findings

- The Turkish version of the CARE measure has high internal consistency and homogeneity.
- The measure has a single-factor structure and high construct validity.
- The CARE score is not influenced by patients’ demographic characteristics.

## Abstract

The Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure was developed to create a means of evaluating a physician’s consultation process based on an extensive and meaningful definition of empathy, independent of a patient’s socioeconomic background. The aim of this study was to adapt the valid and reliable CARE measure into Turkish and to confirm the measure’s validity and reliability in the Turkish language. The measure reached its final version after the processes of translation, back-translation, and a pilot study. The final version of the measure was administered to 300 individuals between the ages of 18 and 83 who were patients at Akdeniz University Hospital. The internal consistency, homogeneity, and construct of the measure were assessed. The internal consistency and homogeneity of the measure were found to be very high (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.973; the corrected item–total correlation coefficient for all items > 0.816). The measure was found to have a single-factor structure with a high level of construct validity. It was additionally found that the CARE score was not affected by the patients’ demographic characteristics. The Turkish version of the CARE measure can be used as a valid and reliable measuring tool. The CARE measure is a tool with which patients can assess the level of empathy shown by a healthcare provider.