The Communication of Bad News in Palliative Care: The View of Professionals in Spain

Abstract

Background Communication is one of the central axes around which end-of-life care revolves in the context of palliative care. Communication of bad news is reported as one of the most difficult and stressful tasks by palliative care professionals. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify aspects related to the communication of bad news in palliative care in Spain. Methods Descriptive cross-sectional study. An ad hoc questionnaire was designed and sent by e-mail to all palliative care teams in Spain. Results Overall, 206 professionals (102 nurses, 88 physicians and 16 psychologists) completed the questionnaire. A total of 60.2% considered their communication of bad news skills to be good or very good. This was related to older age, experience in both the profession and palliative care, and to having received specific postgraduate training ( P < .001). Around 42.2% perform communication of bad news with the patient first, which is associated with lower skill ( P = .013). About 78.15% of the professionals do not use any specific protocol. Conclusion This study suggests that patients access palliative care with little information about their diagnosis and prognosis. The barriers identified in the communication of bad news are the lack of specific education and training in protocol management, the difficult balance between hope and honesty, the young age of the patient, and the family.