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
. 2023 Mar;73(3):487-493.
doi: 10.47391/JPMA.5249.

Breaking bad news: a descriptive study of physicians' perspective of Sindh, Pakistan

Syed Hamza Abbas  1 , Syed Qamar Abbas  2 , Syed Muhammad Mubeen  3 , Syed Muhammad Mubashir  4 , Aliya Zaman  5
Affiliations

Breaking bad news: a descriptive study of physicians' perspective of Sindh, Pakistan

Syed Hamza Abbas et al. J Pak Med Assoc. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the perception and attitude of physicians related to breaking bad news.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at three teaching hospitals in Karachi and Mirpurkhas, Pakistan, from April 2019 to February 2020, after approval from Hamdard University, Karachi, and comprised physicians of either gender having direct patient contact. Data was collected using a questionnaire based on literature. The questionnaire was pilot-tested before distribution among the subjects. The responses were categorised with respect to age, gender and professional experience. Data was analysed using SPSS 25.

Results: Of the 230 subjects, 119(51.7%) were females. The overall mean age was 34.5±8.8 years and mean professional experience was 9.1±8.2 years. Overall, 19(8.3%) subjects believed they had a very good ability to deliver bad news, while 26(11.3%) avoided telling the patient the truth about diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. Age had a significant association with correctly defining breaking bad news (p<0.05).

Conclusions: The skill level related to breaking bad news was found to be deficient.

Keywords: Breaking bad news, Communication, Pakistan..

PubMed Disclaimer