title: [The academic background of the physician and the communication of a patient's death to family members].
abstract: Communicating the death of a patient always brings about a certain degree of insecurity in the physician.
  
  
  METHODS
  To evaluate this issue, 121 family members of patients who died at our hospital as well as the professional who conveyed the information were interviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We verified that 12.1% of the families disapproved of how they were told about the death, and that 26.4% did not receive any attention at all from the medical staff. Physicians find that the most difficult situations arise when they have to notify the death of young patients (43.3%), death from an acute disease (56.6%), and when the family does not understand the situation (17%). Only 18.9% of the professionals considered their academic background adequate on this subject.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Communication between the medical staff and the family members should take place after the death. The more difficult cases require a good relationship between the parties. Training of the professionals on the subject should be improved since it directly affects how family and relatives are dealt with.
authors.affiliation: Departmaneto de Medicina Social da Faculdade de Ciêcias Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paolo e na Universidade Federal de São Paolo--UNIFESP, São Paolo. albertosjunior@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Starzewski Júnior
authors.forename: Luiz Clemente
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Rolim
authors.forename: Luiz Carlos
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Morrone
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001293:Attitude to Death; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011368:Professional-Family Relations