Is hope fragile?
The communication of bad news to patients in a sensitive and supportive manner is a challenging part of healthcare practice, in part because of the cultural differences and ethical dilemmas that complicate such discussions. One of the barriers to nurse-patient communication has been the assumption that hope is fragile. Sometimes this assumption is held by nurses, and sometimes it is held by patients or their families. Reasons for confidence in hope are discussed.
Baumann
Steven L
SL
Hunter College, City University of New York, New York 11596, USA. sbaumann@hunter.cuny.edu
D006801:Humans; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D014421:Turkey