Trial Outcomes & Findings for Effect of a Community Service-Learning Intervention on Medical Empathy and Clinical Self-Efficacy in Medical Students (NCT NCT07528521)

Results Overview

Change from baseline in total score on the Jefferson Scale of Empathy, Student Version (JSE-S). Scale range: 20 to 140. Higher scores indicate greater medical empathy. Used with permission from Thomas Jefferson University.

Recruitment status

COMPLETED

Study phase

NA

Target enrollment

35 participants

Primary outcome timeframe

Baseline and 5 weeks

Results posted on

2026-08-17

Participant Flow

Medical students enrolled in the Clinical Practice I module (4th semester, Médico Cirujano program, FES Iztacala, UNAM) were recruited through an open invitation in April 2026. Participation was strictly voluntary. No compensation was provided. All 35 students who were invited agreed to participate.

No randomization was performed. This is a single-group pre-post quasi-experimental study

Participant milestones

Participant milestones
Measure	Service-Learning Community Intervention Fourth-semester medical students participate in a structured Service-Learning activity at a primary school, conducting anthropometric and somatometric assessments of school-age children. Measurements include weight, height, BMI, body circumferences, and body segments. Students complete a simplified clinical history and produce a written clinical report with findings interpretation and health recommendations.
Overall Study STARTED	35
Overall Study COMPLETED	34
Overall Study NOT COMPLETED	1

Reasons for withdrawal

Reasons for withdrawal
Measure	Service-Learning Community Intervention Fourth-semester medical students participate in a structured Service-Learning activity at a primary school, conducting anthropometric and somatometric assessments of school-age children. Measurements include weight, height, BMI, body circumferences, and body segments. Students complete a simplified clinical history and produce a written clinical report with findings interpretation and health recommendations.
Overall Study Absent from pre-intervention EAM measurement session; complete JSE-S data available	1

Baseline Characteristics

Race and Ethnicity were not collected from any participant.

Baseline characteristics by cohort

Baseline characteristics by cohort
Measure	Service-Learning Community Intervention n=34 Participants Fourth-semester medical students participate in a structured Service-Learning activity at a primary school, conducting anthropometric and somatometric assessments of school-age children. Measurements include weight, height, BMI, body circumferences, and body segments. Students complete a simplified clinical history and produce a written clinical report with findings interpretation and health recommendations.
Age, Continuous	19.8 Years STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.9 • n=34 Participants
Sex: Female, Male Female	22 Participants n=34 Participants
Sex: Female, Male Male	12 Participants n=34 Participants

PRIMARY outcome

Timeframe: Baseline and 5 weeks

Population: 34 participants with complete pre- and post-intervention JSE-S data.

Change from baseline in total score on the Jefferson Scale of Empathy, Student Version (JSE-S). Scale range: 20 to 140. Higher scores indicate greater medical empathy. Used with permission from Thomas Jefferson University.

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure	Service-Learning Community Intervention n=34 Participants Fourth-semester medical students participate in a structured Service-Learning activity at a primary school, conducting anthropometric and somatometric assessments of school-age children. Measurements include weight, height, BMI, body circumferences, and body segments. Students complete a simplified clinical history and produce a written clinical report with findings interpretation and health recommendations.
Change in Medical Empathy Score (JSE-S)	14.09 Score on a scale (20-140) Standard Deviation 12.81

PRIMARY outcome

Timeframe: Baseline and 5 weeks

Population: 31 participants with complete pre- and post-intervention JSE-S data. 3 participants excluded due to incomplete instrument data.

Change from baseline in total score on the Medical Self-Efficacy Scale (EAM), a 5-item Likert instrument developed by the principal investigator. Scale range: 5 to 25. Higher scores indicate greater perceived clinical self-efficacy. Cronbach's alpha=0.849, McDonald's omega=0.871.

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure	Service-Learning Community Intervention n=31 Participants Fourth-semester medical students participate in a structured Service-Learning activity at a primary school, conducting anthropometric and somatometric assessments of school-age children. Measurements include weight, height, BMI, body circumferences, and body segments. Students complete a simplified clinical history and produce a written clinical report with findings interpretation and health recommendations.
Change in Perceived Clinical Self-Efficacy Score (EAM)	2.39 Score on a scale (5-25) Standard Deviation 5.99

PRIMARY outcome

Timeframe: Baseline and 5 weeks

Population: Data were not collected for this outcome. Although 34 participants completed the intervention and produced written clinical reports, the planned blind evaluation by two independent faculty evaluators could not be completed due to end-of-semester scheduling constraints at FES Iztacala. The ICC inter-rater reliability assessment was therefore not performed. These data are not expected to be collected or analyzed in the future, as the study period has concluded.

Change in total score on a 7-dimension, 33-point standardized rubric evaluating the clinical anthropometry report. Dimensions: basic anthropometric measurements, body circumferences, body segments, use of reference values, clinical interpretation, recommendations, and report structure. Evaluated blindly by two independent faculty members. Inter-rater reliability assessed with ICC (two-way absolute agreement model). NOTE: Data for this outcome measure were not collected. The clinical report rubric evaluation was planned but could not be completed due to operational time constraints during the study period. Results for this outcome are not available.

Outcome measures

Outcome data not reported

SECONDARY outcome

Timeframe: 5 weeks

Population: 31 participants with complete data on both ΔJSE-S and ΔEAM. Normality of both difference distributions confirmed by Shapiro-Wilk (ΔJSE-S: W=0.958, p=0.255; ΔEAM: W=0.977, p=0.717). Pearson correlation used.

Pearson correlation coefficient between the change score (post minus pre) in JSE-S and the change score (post minus pre) in EAM, in participants with complete data on both instruments.

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure	Service-Learning Community Intervention n=31 Participants Fourth-semester medical students participate in a structured Service-Learning activity at a primary school, conducting anthropometric and somatometric assessments of school-age children. Measurements include weight, height, BMI, body circumferences, and body segments. Students complete a simplified clinical history and produce a written clinical report with findings interpretation and health recommendations.
Correlation Between Change in Medical Empathy and Change in Clinical Self-Efficacy (Pearson r)	-0.079 Pearson correlation coefficient Interval -0.42 to 0.28

Adverse Events

Service-Learning Community Intervention

Serious events: 0 serious events

Other events: 0 other events

Deaths: 0 deaths

Serious adverse events

Adverse event data not reported

Other adverse events

Adverse event data not reported

Additional Information

Luis Ángel Flores Sagrero, MPSS

Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, UNAM

Phone: 5547027445

Email: [email protected]

Results disclosure agreements

Principal investigator is a sponsor employee
Publication restrictions are in place