Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2003 Feb;29(1):51-4.
doi: 10.1136/jme.29.1.51.

Relatives' attitudes towards informing patients about the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

E Pucci  1 , N Belardinelli, G Borsetti, G Giuliani
Affiliations

Relatives' attitudes towards informing patients about the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

E Pucci et al. J Med Ethics. 2003 Feb.

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate relatives' attitudes towards informing patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) about their diagnosis.

Setting: A university hospital in Italy.

Methods: The closest relatives of each of 71 subjects diagnosed for the first time as having AD were interviewed, using a semistructured questionnaire. Spontaneous requests by relatives not to communicate issues concerning the diagnosis were also recorded.

Results: Forty three (60.6%) relatives spontaneously requested that patients not be fully informed. After being interviewed, nobody thought that the patient should be given all the information. Justifications were related to the fear of the onset or worsening of depressive symptoms in the patient.

Conclusions: In Italy relatives' opposition to informing AD patients appears to be common. Knowledge of the relatives' attitudes may be useful for clinicians but disclosure of diagnosis should be based on the clinical evaluation of the patient and on a prudent evaluation of the relationship between the patient and her/his relative caregiver.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. J Med Ethics. 2000 Apr;26(2):108-13 - PubMed
    1. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 1999 Apr-Jun;13(2):88-90 - PubMed
    1. Support Care Cancer. 2002 Jan;10(1):51-7 - PubMed
    1. J Psychiatr Res. 1975 Nov;12(3):189-98 - PubMed
    1. Am J Psychiatry. 1982 Sep;139(9):1136-9 - PubMed

Publication types