The Impact of Balint Groups on Empathy and Patient-Centeredness in Brazilian Medical Students: A Quantitative Analysis

Background: Medical education often prioritizes technical skills over empathy and patient-centered care, leading to a decline in empathy scores among medical students. Balint Groups, which focus on the emotional and relational aspects of patient care, have been proposed as a potential intervention to address this issue. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of Balint Groups on empathy and patient-centeredness among Brazilian medical students. Methods: A prospective, quantitative study was conducted with 372 medical students from 22 Brazilian states. Participants attended six virtual Balint Group sessions. Empathy was measured using the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE-S), and patient-centeredness was assessed using the Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS). Data were collected before and after the intervention and analyzed using paired t-tests and ANOVA. Results: The mean empathy score increased significantly from 121.42 (±10.23) to 124.22 (±7.31) (p < 0.001). Patient-centeredness also improved, with a significant increase in the "care" subscale (p = 0.0002) and a reduction in the "power" subscale (p = 0.004). Students classified as "patient-centered" increased from 41.1% to 45.4%. Conclusions: Balint Groups significantly improved empathy and patient-centeredness among Brazilian medical students. These findings suggest that Balint Groups are an effective educational strategy to enhance relational skills in medical training, potentially leading to more humanized and empathetic healthcare professionals.