Examining Saudi Physicians’ Approaches to Communicate Bad News and Bridging Generational Gaps

Abstract

Breaking bad news is an intrinsic aspect of physicians’ clinical practices. This study aims to investigate how Saudi physicians manage the process of communicating bad news and explore potential differences in breaking bad news practices between young physicians (interns) and their older colleagues. From 1 March to 15 April 2023, ok an anonymous online cross-sectional survey was conducted to explore the communication practices of Saudi physicians concerning breaking bad news using the Communicating Bad News Questionnaire. The physicians were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling methods, and the survey questionnaire was distributed on various social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp. Data were analyzed using R version 4.2.1. A total of 782 physicians were included in this study. Male physicians represented 50.9% of the participants. Three-quarters (74.7%) were aged 25–30 years. The largest proportion of physicians (45.3%) were interns, followed by junior residents (22.9%), senior residents (11.0%), and specialists (6.5%). The median years of experience was 1.0, ranging from 0 to 45 years. Regarding the place of work, most physicians (86.6%) worked in hospitals, while 13.4% worked in primary healthcare centers. A total of 14.8% said they were not comfortable with discussing patients’/relatives’ issues (20.60 among interns vs. 10.50% among non-interns, χ2 = 27.50, p = 0.0001), 66.6% reported being trained to break bad news (59.60% among interns vs. 72.40% among non-interns, χ2 = 14.34, p = 0.001), 59.1% reported breaking bad news to the patient, 37.9% reported to the family, and 3.1% reported to both, with no significant difference between interns and non-interns. A substantial proportion of physicians reported feeling uncomfortable discussing sensitive issues with patients and their relatives despite having received training to deliver bad news and being willing to communicate bad news directly to patients. Notably, our analysis identified a significant disparity between intern and non-intern physicians, particularly in terms of their comfort level in addressing patient-related concerns and access to breaking bad news training.