title: Communication of a schizophrenia diagnosis: A qualitative study of patients' perspectives.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Transparent diagnostic communication is considered best practice for clinicians. However, while patients expect to receive a schizophrenia diagnosis from their psychiatrist, research suggests mental health clinicians are often reluctant to provide this information to patients.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study examines the perceptions of people with schizophrenia surrounding the communication of this diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A generic qualitative methodological approach was used. A total of 14 patients with schizophrenia were recruited through community mental health services (n = 10) and the Australia Schizophrenia Research Bank (ASRB; n = 4) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore the experiences and perceptions of people with schizophrenia about the way a schizophrenia diagnosis was communicated by mental health clinicians. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, codes generated and thematic analysis undertaken aided by NVivo.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority of participants felt it was beneficial to receive a diagnosis despite acknowledging the distress this information sometimes caused, with many reporting this knowledge gave a sense of relief. It helped to understand their experiences and behaviours, improved their trust in the psychiatric system and increased treatment adherence. However, many reported difficulty in obtaining information about their condition, its treatment and prognosis, and expressed dissatisfaction with the way a diagnosis of schizophrenia was communicated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Insight into the perceptions and experiences of patients with schizophrenia about how a diagnosis of schizophrenia is communicated is a key outcome of this research. This knowledge will inform the development of future training programmes for mental health clinicians, and influence the clinical practice of health professionals treating patients with schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Priority Research Centre for Translational Neuroscience and Mental Health, School of Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia and Hunter Medical Research Institute Australian Schizophrenia Research Bank (ASRB), Schizophrenia Research Institute (SRI), Sydney, NSW, Australia Hunter New England Mental Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia Carmel.Loughland@newcastle.edu.au.
authors.forename: Carmel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Loughland
authors.affiliation: Hunter New England Mental Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Kylie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Priority Research Centre for Translational Neuroscience and Mental Health, School of Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia and Hunter Medical Research Institute Hunter New England Mental Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Gillian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Priority Research Centre for Translational Neuroscience and Mental Health, School of Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia and Hunter Medical Research Institute Hunter New England Mental Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.affiliation: Hunter New England Mental Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Hunter New England Mental Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Harsimrat
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sandhu
authors.affiliation: Hunter New England Mental Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Varmos
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Tomer T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Carma
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bylund
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Yulia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Landa
authors.affiliation: Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour, School of Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia and Hunter Medical Research Institute.
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Outram
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014342:Truth Disclosure
keywords: Psychosis; clinical practice; communication; patients’ perceptions; semi-structured interview