Patient perceptions of empathy in clinical encounters with First Contact Physiotherapy Practitioners in Northern Ireland

Purpose: As part of the current process to support GPs with their ever-increasing workload, First Contact Physiotherapy Practitioners (FCPPs) are being employed into primary care based multidisciplinary teams. ‘Empathy’ has been identified as a key factor in defining the quality of care provision and has been shown to impact patient enablement and adherence to treatment regimens, patient and clinician satisfaction and both pain and anxiety levels. There is, however, no published research which analyses patient perceptions of empathy in clinical encounters with FCPPs.