Breaking bad news to patients with spinal cord injury in Turkey - physiatrists' perspective.
To explore Turkish physiatrists' experiences and opinions about breaking bad news (BBN) to patients with spinal cord injury (SCI).



A cross sectional study.



Turkey.



Sixty-nine physiatrists completed a questionnaire about experiences and opinions regarding BBN and self-assessment of communication skills (CS).



Eleven percent of specialists and 53% of residents were trained on basic CS. All participants believed that physiatrists should play a role in BBN and the majority reported that they delivered the bad news in their clinic. Sixty-seven percent believed that the primary responsibility belongs to physiatrists. Sixty-eight percent reported that the most appropriate time for BBN is during rehabilitation. Self-assessments of CS were considered satisfactory in most steps of SPIKES protocol. Twenty percent told absolute truth to patients while 80% stated that they did so sometimes or partially. Only 41% confirmed that they do not use unrealistic statements to comfort patients. Fewer than 60% stated that they performed the most appropriate and excellent behaviors for items in "empathy" section.



Physiatrists had different opinions about the style of BBN. Self-assessments of CS were optimistic, however physiatrists were not fully satisfied with their empathy skills.
a Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation , Koc University School of Medicine , Istanbul , Turkey.
Ozden
O
Ozyemisci-Taskiran
b Department of Medical Education , Gazi University Faculty of Medicine , Ankara , Turkey.
Isil Irem
II
Budakoglu
b Department of Medical Education , Gazi University Faculty of Medicine , Ankara , Turkey.
Ozlem
O
Coskun
c Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation , Gazi University Faculty of Medicine , Ankara , Turkey.
Nesrin
N
Demirsoy
D000328:Adult; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000066530:Neurological Rehabilitation / Q000523:psychology; D000072157:Physiatrists / Q000523:psychology*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D014421:Turkey
Communication; Paraplegia; Physician-patient relations; Prognosis; Rehabilitation; Spinal cord injuries