Attitude of cancer patients regarding the disclosure of their diagnosis

DOI: 10.15343/0104-7809.20184202393414

Abstract

Communication is an essential component of the doctor-patient relationship, especially when disclosing the diagnosis of a serious illness. The aim of this study was to describe the attitude of oncology patients regarding the disclosure of their diagnosis by the attending physicians. A questionnaire with 21 questions was applied to 210 patients from the hospital oncology sector. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistica® 7.0 program (StatSoft) with application of Fisher’s Exact Test and Pearson’s Chi-square. The majority perceived that the doctor was calm (85.71%) and kind (90%). Regarding the way their diagnosis was disclosed, most were satisfied (92.43%), although there was a difference in attitudes, especially in the 50-59 age group, which showed less agreement (p = 0.0171). The majority (80.48%) considered that the physician was prepared to make the disclosure, with less agreement among participants of greater age group (p = 0.0338). Adequate disclosure of the diagnosis was considered an important behavior, more so by the age group up to 39 years (p = 0.037) and by women (p = 0.0084). However, 28.57% of the participants reported a lack of opportunity to ask questions, 14.28% considered the doctor anxious, 13.81% would have liked the diagnosis to occur differently, and 10% indicated that the doctor showed a lack of kindness. It is concluded that the majority of the patients agreed with the way in which the diagnosis was revealed by the physician, but that some failures point to the need to emphasize the teaching of how to communicate of bad news during medical school, post-graduate, and continuing education.