Empathy as a crucial skill in disrupting disparities in global brain health

doi:10.3389/fneur.2023.1189143

. 2023 Dec 15:14:1189143.

doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1189143. eCollection 2023.

Empathy as a crucial skill in disrupting disparities in global brain health

Fasihah Irfani Fitri^#^{1

2}, Carmen Lage^#^{3

4}, Tatyana Mollayeva^#^{2

5

6

7

8

9}, Hernando Santamaria-Garcia^#^{4

10

11}, Melissa Chan^{2

12}, Marcia R Cominetti^{2

13}, Tselmen Daria^{4

14}, Gillian Fallon⁴, Dominic Gately², Muthoni Gichu^{2

15}, Sandra Giménez^{4

16}, Raquel Gutierrez Zuniga^{2

17}, Rafi Hadad^{4

18}, Tanisha Hill-Jarrett^{4

19}, Mick O'Kelly^{4

20}, Luis Martinez^{4

19}, Paul Modjaji², Ntkozo Ngcobo^{2

21}, Rafal Nowak^{4

22}, Chukwuanugo Ogbuagu^{4

23}, Moïse Roche^{2

24}, Cristiano Schaffer Aguzzoli^{4

25}, So Young Shin^{4

26}, Erin Smith^{4

27}, Selam Aberra Yoseph^{4

28}, Yared Zewde^{4

28}, Yavuz Ayhan^{4

29}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia.
² Senior Atlantic Fellow at the Global Brain Health Institute/Trinity College, UCSF, Dublin, Ireland.
³ Department of Neurology, Marques de Valdecilla University Hospital - Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL), Santander, Spain.
⁴ Senior Atlantic Fellow at the Global Brain Health Institute/Trinity College, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, United States.
⁵ Canada Research Chairs, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁶ The KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁷ Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁸ Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁹ Acquired Brain Injury Research Lab, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹⁰ Center of Memory and Cognition Intellectus, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia.
¹¹ Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (PhD Program in Neuroscience) Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia.
¹² Department of Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
¹³ Department of Gerontology, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil.
¹⁴ Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA, United States.
¹⁵ Division of Geriatric Medicine at the Ministry of Health, Nairobi, Kenya.
¹⁶ Multidisciplinary Sleep Unit, Memory Unit, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
¹⁷ Hospital Quirónsalud Valle del Henares, Madrid, Spain.
¹⁸ Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.
¹⁹ Memory and Aging Center, Medical Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States.
²⁰ National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland.
²¹ Department of Psychiatry, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
²² Neuroelectrics (Spain), Barcelona, Spain.
²³ Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Nigeria.
²⁴ Division of Psychiatry, UCL, London, United Kingdom.
²⁵ Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
²⁶ College of Nursing, Inje University, Busan, Republic of Korea.
²⁷ Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States.
²⁸ College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
²⁹ Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38162446
PMCID: PMC10756064
DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1189143

Empathy as a crucial skill in disrupting disparities in global brain health

Fasihah Irfani Fitri et al. Front Neurol. 2023.

. 2023 Dec 15:14:1189143.

doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1189143. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia.
² Senior Atlantic Fellow at the Global Brain Health Institute/Trinity College, UCSF, Dublin, Ireland.
³ Department of Neurology, Marques de Valdecilla University Hospital - Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL), Santander, Spain.
⁴ Senior Atlantic Fellow at the Global Brain Health Institute/Trinity College, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, United States.
⁵ Canada Research Chairs, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁶ The KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁷ Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁸ Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁹ Acquired Brain Injury Research Lab, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹⁰ Center of Memory and Cognition Intellectus, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia.
¹¹ Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (PhD Program in Neuroscience) Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia.
¹² Department of Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
¹³ Department of Gerontology, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil.
¹⁴ Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA, United States.
¹⁵ Division of Geriatric Medicine at the Ministry of Health, Nairobi, Kenya.
¹⁶ Multidisciplinary Sleep Unit, Memory Unit, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
¹⁷ Hospital Quirónsalud Valle del Henares, Madrid, Spain.
¹⁸ Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.
¹⁹ Memory and Aging Center, Medical Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States.
²⁰ National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland.
²¹ Department of Psychiatry, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
²² Neuroelectrics (Spain), Barcelona, Spain.
²³ Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Nigeria.
²⁴ Division of Psychiatry, UCL, London, United Kingdom.
²⁵ Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
²⁶ College of Nursing, Inje University, Busan, Republic of Korea.
²⁷ Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States.
²⁸ College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
²⁹ Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38162446
PMCID: PMC10756064
DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1189143

Abstract

Brain health refers to the state of a person's brain function across various domains, including cognitive, behavioral and motor functions. Healthy brains are associated with better individual health, increased creativity, and enhanced productivity. A person's brain health is intricately connected to personal, social and environmental factors. Racial, ethnic, and social disparities affect brain health and on the global scale these disparities within and between regions present a hurdle to brain health. To overcome global disparities, greater collaboration between practitioners and healthcare providers and the people they serve is essential. This requires cultural humility driven by empathy. Empathy is a core prosocial value, a cognitive-emotional skill that helps us understand ourselves and others. This position paper aims to provide an overview of the vital roles of empathy, cooperation, and interdisciplinary partnerships. By consciously integrating this understanding in practice, leaders can better position themselves to address the diverse challenges faced by communities, promote inclusivity in policies and practices, and further more equitable solutions to the problem of global brain health.

Keywords: brain health; cultural humility; disparity; empathy; equity; leadership; value.

Copyright © 2023 Fitri, Lage, Mollayeva, Santamaria-Garcia, Chan, Cominetti, Daria, Fallon, Gately, Gichu, Giménez, Zuniga, Hadad, Hill-Jarrett, O’Kelly, Martinez, Modjaji, Ngcobo, Nowak, Ogbuagu, Roche, Aguzzoli, Shin, Smith, Yoseph, Zewde and Ayhan.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Framework outlining the position advanced in the paper. The value of empathy in tackling disparities in brain health by encouraging more responsive and accessible services, fostering trust among and between diverse populations through cultural humility, and pursuing collaborative interdisciplinary efforts to create responsive, accessible, and effective systems of care.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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[1] Avan A, Hachinski V, Brain Health Learn and Act Group . Brain health: key to health, productivity, and well-being. Alzheimers Dement. (2022) 18:1396–407. doi: 10.1002/alz.12478, PMID: - DOI - PubMed

[2] Avan A, Hachinski V, Brain Health Learn and Act Group . Brain health: key to health, productivity, and well-being. Alzheimers Dement. (2022) 18:1396–407. doi: 10.1002/alz.12478, PMID: - DOI - PubMed

[3] Dawson WD, Smith E, Booi L, Mosse M, Lavretsky H, Reynolds CF, et al. . Investing in late-life brain capital. Innov Aging. (2022) 6:igac016. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igac016 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[4] Dawson WD, Smith E, Booi L, Mosse M, Lavretsky H, Reynolds CF, et al. . Investing in late-life brain capital. Innov Aging. (2022) 6:igac016. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igac016 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[5] WHO . Brain health. Available at: https://www.who.int/health-topics/brain-health#tab=tab_1 [Accessed May 30, 2023]

[6] WHO . Brain health. Available at: https://www.who.int/health-topics/brain-health#tab=tab_1 [Accessed May 30, 2023]

[7] Chen Y, Demnitz N, Yamamoto S, Yaffe K, Lawlor B, Leroi I. Defining brain health: a concept analysis. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. (2021) 37. doi: 10.1002/gps.5564 - DOI - PubMed

[8] Chen Y, Demnitz N, Yamamoto S, Yaffe K, Lawlor B, Leroi I. Defining brain health: a concept analysis. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. (2021) 37. doi: 10.1002/gps.5564 - DOI - PubMed

[9] Braveman P. What are health disparities and health equity? We need to be clear. Public Health Rep. (2014) 129:5–8. doi: 10.1177/00333549141291S203 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[10] Braveman P. What are health disparities and health equity? We need to be clear. Public Health Rep. (2014) 129:5–8. doi: 10.1177/00333549141291S203 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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Empathy as a crucial skill in disrupting disparities in global brain health

Affiliations

Empathy as a crucial skill in disrupting disparities in global brain health

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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Abstract

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