The current article is an integrative and analytical literature review on the concept and meaning of empathy in health and social care professionals. Empathy, i.e., the ability to understand the personal experience of the patient without bonding with them, constitutes an important communication skill for a health professional, one that includes three dimensions: the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral. It has been proven that health professionals with high levels of empathy operate more efficiently as to the fulfillment of their role in eliciting therapeutic change. The empathetic professional comprehends the needs of the health care users, as the latter feel safe to express the thoughts and problems that concern them. Although the importance of empathy is undeniable, a significantly high percentage of health professionals seem to find it difficult to adopt a model of empathetic communication in their everyday practice. Some of the factors that negatively influence the development of empathy are the high number of patients that professionals have to manage, the lack of adequate time, the focus on therapy within the existing academic culture, but also the lack of education in empathy. Developing empathetic skills should not only be the underlying objective in the teaching process of health and social care undergraduate students, but also the subject of the lifelong and continuous education of professionals.

Purpose: Greece has legislated health decentralization several times since the 1920s, but none had been implemented until 2001. Even so, the decentralized system was subsequently modified several times, curtailing the powers that were initially delegated to the health regions, while the whole process has been criticized as limited in scope. The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons that the decentralization process did not fulfil its initial aims. Design/methodology/approach: Elite interviews were conducted with 37 of the 50 directors of health regions who served between 2001 and 2009. Interview transcripts were divided into four themes and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings: The participants agreed that health decentralization in Greece was only administrative rather than political and did not include fiscal decentralization. They described problematic and competitive relations with party officials and civil servants. They blamed their short tenure for the inability to fulfil their plans. Findings indicate that decentralization in Greece did not achieve its objectives because of the dominant mentality of centralized control, the lack of political support, the discontinuity in health policies and opposition from vested interests. Originality/value: The value of the present study lies in the fact that it examines in depth the issue of health decentralization drawing on the experiences of the former directors of the Greek health regions, i.e. the persons who were called on to put into practice the process of regional decentralization.

Background. Labor related injuries among Palestinian schoolchildren are a significant undocumented public health concern. This study aimed at documenting the prevalence and nature of work related injuries among schoolchildren as well as identifying sociodemographic factors that predict these injuries. Methods. A cross-sectional survey included 15,963 children of whom 6458 (40.8%) completed an optional package related to labor. Students aged 12–18 years self-completed the international WHO collaborative HBSC valid questionnaires between April and May of 2006. Results. Approximately 73.8% of the students who filled the optional package reported working during the last 12 months, of whom 79.1% sustained a work related injury. Work injuries were significantly higher among boys, younger children, and children enrolled in UNRWA schools and living in Gaza Strip P<0.05. Children working ≥3 hours/day were more likely to experience injuries, 1.73 (95% CI, 1.53–1.95), than those working ≤3/day. About half of the children worked in retail trade (51.5%), agriculture (20.0%), and cleaning (11.4%). Injury type was related to the type of work performed. Conclusions. The high prevalence of injuries among working Palestinian schoolchildren confirms its severity as a public health problem. To reduce occupational injuries, policymakers and professionals should develop intervention programs that target the public and health providers.

The aim of the study was twofold: (a) to examine the way in which professional social workers perceive and apply in their practice the concept of empathy; (b) to explore sociodemographic factors, education/special training and work characteristics associated with their empathic skills. This is a cross-sectional study with a purposive sample of 203 Greek social workers. For the assessment of empathy, the Empathy Scale for Social Workers (ESSW) was used. The sample consisted mainly of female social workers with a mean age of 43.8 years. More than 70% of them were practicing the profession for more than 10 years. Nearly one-third participated in psychotherapy courses, and only half of them have been certified. On average, they reported high levels of empathy. Initial univariate analyses showed that empathy scores were significantly higher for older social workers, married, the more experienced, those who referred to working experience with disabled people or people having problems with substance use and the professionals who had obtained a certification in psychotherapy. ‘Having a middle work experience of 10–19 years’ was a significant correlate in all scales and related negatively to empathy indicating a burnout effect. The implications for social work education and future training are discussed.