Film-Based Medical Education and Social Justice Course: Effects on Alexithymia and Empathy in Medical Students

NCT07399366 | Enrolling By Invitation DMC

• 1 other identifier: 2025-YÖNP-0418
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study will examine whether a 14-week elective course that uses films and guided discussion on social justice in health care can improve medical students' empathy skills and reduce alexithymia (difficulty recognizing and describing emotions). Approximately 50 volunteer medical students will participate. Students who choose the elective course will form the intervention group, and students who do not take the course will form a comparison group. All participants will complete the same questionnaires/assessments at the beginning and at the end of the semester. The main goal is to compare changes in empathy and alexithymia scores between the two groups.

Conditions

Alexithymia; Empathy Skills; Education, Medical; Social Justice Advocacy; Health Equity

Keywords

Film-based education; Cinema in medical education; CineMedicine; Narrative medicine; Social justice education

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) Total and Subscale Scores (Change)

  Change in TAS-20 total score and subscale scores (Difficulty Identifying Feelings, Difficulty Describing Feelings, Externally Oriented Thinking). Higher scores indicate higher alexithymia.

  Baseline (T0) and end of course (T1, approximately 14 weeks)

• Scenario-Based Empathy Skills Total Score and Rubric Subscores (Change)

  Change in total empathy skills score derived from responses to study-developed scenarios scored with a rubric based on Dökmen's staged empathy classification; includes rubric subscores/levels if applicable.

  Baseline (T0) and end of course (T1, approximately 14 weeks)

• Jefferson Scale of Empathy S(tudent)-Version

  JSE-S is a self-administered 20-item questionnaire scored on a 7-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree to 7=strongly agree). Total score is the sum of item scores (range 20-140); higher scores indicate higher empathy.

  Baseline (T0) and end of course (T1, approximately 14 weeks)

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Association Between Change in TAS-20 and Change in Empathy Score

  From baseline (T0) to end of course (T1, approximately 14 weeks)

• Jefferson Scale of Empathy - Student Version (JSE-S) Subscale/Factor Scores (Change)

  Baseline (T0) and end of course (T1, approximately 14 weeks)

• Association Between JSE-S Score and Scenario-Based Empathy Skills Score (Convergent Validity)

  Baseline (T0) and end of course (T1, approximately 14 weeks)

Other Outcomes (1)

• Reflective Journal Themes (Intervention Group Only)

  After each session during the course period (approximately 14 weeks); analyzed after T1

Study Arms (2)

Film-Based Medical Education and Social Justice Elective

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants enrolled in the elective "Film-Based Medical Education and Social Justice" course. The course is delivered over one semester (\~14 weeks) and uses selected films/film clips with structured group discussion and reflection activities.

Behavioral: Film-Based Medical Education and Social Justice Elective

No Course / Usual Curriculum

NO INTERVENTION

Participants who do not enroll in the elective course during the same period and continue usual curriculum without additional sessions.

Interventions

Film-Based Medical Education and Social Justice Elective BEHAVIORAL

A 14-week elective course (approximately 2 hours/week) using selected films/film clips with structured group discussion and reflective activities/journaling.

Also known as: Film-Based Medical Education and Social Justice Course

Film-Based Medical Education and Social Justice Elective

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Enrolled medical student at Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University Faculty of Medicine, registered in Year 1, 2, or 3 during the study period.
• Age 18 years or older.
• Provides written/electronic informed consent after being informed about the study.
• For the intervention arm: enrolled in the elective "Film-Based Medical Education and Social Justice" course.
• For the control arm: from the same academic year/cohort during the same period and not enrolled in the elective course.
• Willing and able to complete both baseline (T0) and end-of-course (T1) assessments (has sufficient cognitive/communication ability to complete questionnaires).

You may not qualify if:

• Does not provide consent or withdraws consent at any stage.
• Younger than 18 years.
• Does not complete at least one of the two assessments (T0 or T1).
• Leaves critical sections of the questionnaires/assessments largely blank (e.g., substantial missing items on TAS-20 or incomplete scenario responses preventing scoring).
• Duplicate/duplicate submission (more than one form from the same participant for the same assessment).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Faculty of Medicine

Çanakkale, Çanakkale, 17100, Turkey (Türkiye)

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Bagby RM, Parker JD, Taylor GJ. The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale- I. J Psychosom Res. 1994;38(1):23-32. PMID: 8126686. doi: 10.1016/0022-3999(94)90005-1. Law M, Kwong W, Friesen F, Veinot P, Ng SL. The current landscape of television and movies in medical education. Perspect Med Educ. 2015;4(5):218-224. doi: 10.1007/s40037-015-0205-9. Lumlertgul N, Kijpaisalratana N, Pityaratstian N, Wangsaturaka D. Cinemeducation: A pilot student project using movies to help students learn medical professionalism. Med Teach. 2009;31(7):e327-e332. PMID: 19811142. doi: 10.1080/01421590802637941. Rueb M, Siebeck M, Rehfuess EA, Pfadenhauer LM. Cinemeducation in medicine: a mixed methods study on students' motivations and benefits. BMC Med Educ. 2022;22:172. doi: 10.1186/s12909-022-03240-x. Salajegheh M, Sohrabpour AA, Mohammadi E. Exploring medical students' perceptions of empathy after cinemeducation based on Lev Vygotsky's theory. BMC Med Educ. 2024;24:94. doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-05084-z.

  RESULT

Related Links

• Course Syllabus

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Affective Symptoms; Narrative Medicine

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Narration; Communication

Study Officials

• Mustafa Onur Yurdal, PhD

  Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University

  STUDY CHAIR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Outcomes Assessor: Scenario-based empathy responses are scored by independent raters who are blinded to group assignment (elective vs control) and time point (T0 vs T1). Responses are de-identified and labeled with coded participant IDs prior to scoring. Unblinding occurs only after scoring is completed.
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: PhD, Curriculum Specialist

Model Details: Nonrandomized allocation due to elective self-selection (students enroll in the course by choice); contemporaneous comparison group not enrolled.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 3, 2026
• First Posted: February 10, 2026
• Study Start: February 16, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 20, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 30, 2026
• Last Updated: February 25, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Locations

TU (1)