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Objective:To develop the interpersonal emotion regulation questionnaire for healthcare workers and examine its reliability and validity.Methods:Based on the theory of social regulatory cycle (SRC), literatures review and semi-structured interview were used to form the item pool of the scale.Through expert consultation, project analysis and the exploratory factor analysis, the scale items were screened, and the interpersonal emotion regulation questionnaire for healthcare workers was initially formed.The convenient sampling method was adopted to select 619 healthcare workers from multiple hospitals in Anhui province to conduct the formal survey to test the reliability and validity of the questionnaire and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using the SPSS 24.0 and Mplus 8.0 software.Results:There were 18 items and four dimensions including emotion identification, motivation, regulation strategy and implementation strategy process in the interpersonal emotion regulation questionnaire for healthcare workers.The results of CFA showed that the questionnaire fitted the data with well construct validity.The correlation coefficients between each dimension and the scale were 0.830-0.932.The Cronbach’s α coefficient of the overall questionnaire was 0.962, the split-half reliability was 0.880 and the test-retest reliability was 0.786.The score of total questionnaire was significantly positively correlated with the score of emotional intelligence ( r=0.680, P<0.001) and empathic ability ( r=0.554, P<0.001), and was significantly negatively correlated with the doctor-patient relationship ( r=-0.353, P<0.001). Conclusion:The interpersonal emotion regulation questionnaire for healthcare workers has satisfactory reliability and validity, which can be used to measure the ability of interpersonal emotion regulation in healthcare workers.
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Objective:To explore the application of Miller's pyramid theory combined with Bahrain's team activities in the standardized residency training (SRT) of burn surgeons.Methods:Seventy-four residents who were on the SRT program in the Department of Burns & Wound Care in The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University were enrolled in the study. The students were divided into control group and observation group according to the teaching methods. Thirty-seven students in the control group were provided with conventional teaching, and 37 students in the observation group were provided with training based on Miller' pyramid theory combined with Bahrain's team activities. The two groups were evaluated for teaching effectiveness and doctor-patient communication skills. SPSS22.0 was used for the chi-square test and t test. Results:The evaluation outcome of teaching effectiveness in the observation group was better than that in the control group ( t=3.01, 3.47, 3.49, 3.32, and 2.54; P=0.004, 0.001, 0.001, 0.001, and 0.013). After the training, the scores of Set Elicit Give Understand End scale in the two groups increased, with significantly higher scores achieved in the observation group than in the control group ( t=3.23, 2.99, 2.07, 3.62, 3.00, and 7.89; P=0.002, 0.004, 0.042, 0.001, 0.004, and <0.001). Conclusion:The application of Miller's pyramid theory and Bahrain's team activities in the SRT of burn surgeons can improve students' evaluation of teaching effectiveness and improve their doctor-patient communication skills.
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Based on the theory of "Johari Window", this study introduced how to stimulate information content obtained in doctor-patient communication and how to apply the comprehensive geriatric assessment creatively from the four modules of open area, blind area, hidden area and unknown area in the model. It helped students to gain the trust and cooperation of patients, rapidly narrow down the blind area, hidden area and unknown area, guide patients to actively extend the open area, improve the teaching quality of doctor-patient communication in a scientific way.
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Objective:To investigate the association between cancer fatalism and optimistic attitudes among colorectal cancer patients, and how the above linkage is moderated by the involvement of patients′ opinions, the family members′ opinions and the physicians′ opinions in treatment decision-making.Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 64 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer and awaiting radical colorectal cancer surgery in the Department of General Surgery of Beijing Friendship Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, from January 2021 to December 2021. There were 38 males and 26 females, aged (61.2±13.0) years from 30 to 84 years. Cancer fatalism, optimism attitudes, and the involvement of patients′ opinions, the family members′ opinions and the physicians′ opinions in treatment decision-making were assessed. The patients′ cancer fatalism beliefs were measured by the " Chance" subscale of the Form C of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC-C), optimism attitudes were assessed by the Chinese version of the revised Life Orientation Test (CLOT-R), and the influence of patients′, family members′, and physicians′ opinions in the medical decision-making process was measured by a self-designed single factor scale. Measurement data of normal distribution were expressed as mean±standard deviation ( ± s). Measurement data of skewed distribution were expressed as M( Q1, Q3). Spearman correlation analysis and Chi-square test was used to examine the association between the main outcome variable (patients′ optimistic attitudes) and demographic and clinical characteristics. Interaction was examined by hierarchical linear regression analysis combined with simple slope tests. Results:Cancer fatalism was negatively associated with patients′ optimistic attitudes ( r=-0.35, P<0.01). Optimistic attitude of patients was significantly and negatively correlated with the influence of family members′ opinions on medical decision-making ( r=-0.25, P<0.05). There were significant positive correlations between the influence of patients′ and family members′ opinions ( r=0.50, P<0.01), family members′ and physicians′ opinions ( r=0.67, P<0.01), and physicians′ and patients′ opinions ( r=0.38, P<0.01) in medical decision making. Hierarchical linear regression analysis showed a negative association between cancer fatalism and optimism ( β=-0.32, P=0.01). This association was further moderated by the involvement of family members′ opinions ( β=-0.56, P<0.01) and the involvement of physicians′ opinions ( β=-0.36, P=0.04) in medical decision-making. Simple slope tests revealed that the negative impact of fatalistic attitudes on patients′ optimism attitudes may be potentiated when family members′ opinions have high influence on medical decision-making, while the negative impact may be buffered to some extent when physicians′ opinions have high influence on medical decision-making. Conclusions:Cancer fatalism had a negative effect on patients′ optimism. The high influence of physicians in treatment decision-making buffered the negative effect of cancer fatalism on optimism; the high influence of family members in treatment decision-making potentiated the negative effect of cancer fatalism on optimism. In the process of doctor-patient communication and shared decision-making, for patients with strong fatalistic attitudes, consideration should be given to appropriately increasing direct informational communication between physicians and patients and reducing excessive family intervention in medical decision-making, so as to enhance patients′ autonomy for treatment, promote optimism, and reduce the negative effects of cancer fatalism.
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OBJECTIVE@#To preliminarily explore the applicable scenarios of an intraoral camera to assist oral anatomical landmarks recognition, so as to improve the clinical diagnosis and treatment mode, cultivate the concept of caring for patients, strengthen doctor-patient communication, assist experts to teach, and improve the clinical diagnosis and efficacy rate.@*METHODS@#A new type of an intraoral camera was applied in the recognition of oral anatomy landmarks and four application scenarios were developed, namely: (1) clinical diagnosis and treatment scenarios, in which doctors used intraoral camera to conduct a comprehensive examination of patients in the mouth and take videos and photos; (2) doctor-patient communication scenarios, when the doctor told the patient about the treatment plan, the video or photo taken by the intraoral camera was displayed to the patient; (3) expert teaching scenarios, when the expert used an intraoral camera to teach in the patient's mouth, and the young doctor learned oral anatomical signs on the projection screen, with the study of theoretical lessons; (4) difficult case recording scenarios, in the process of clinical diagnosis and treatment, when encountering difficult cases, you could use intraoral camera to record and take photos for young doctors to discuss, and experts to comment and guide.@*RESULTS@#The application of intraoral camera could: (1) improve the clinical diagnosis and treatment mode and raise the clinical diagnosis and efficacy rate; (2) stimulate young doctors' interest in learning, use intraoral camera in assessments, and skillfully combine theoretical knowledge of anatomical landmarks with clinical practice, so as to improve the teaching effect; (3) cultivate, through self or mutual use, the concept of caring for patients and reinforce the importance of gentle operation; (4) strengthen doctor-patient communication. Doctors could communicate with patients more visually, so that the patients could better understand their own situation, and strengthen the patients' trust in the doctors.@*CONCLUSION@#Intraoral camera can assist oral clinical diagnosis and treatment, such as the recognition of oral anatomical landmarks. It plays a certain role in promoting the improvement of clinical diagnosis and treatment mode, stimulating learning interest, cultivating the concept of caring for patients, and enhancing doctor-patient communication.
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Humans , Physician-Patient Relations , Physicians , Communication , Mouth , LearningABSTRACT
【Objective】 To explore the clinical application effects of animated video in doctor-patient communication before surgical treatment of ureteral calculi. 【Methods】 A total of 278 cases of ureteral calculi treated in our hospital during Jan. and Dec.2021 were selected as subjects. According to the operation periods, 146 patients treated during Jan. and Jun.2021 were classified as the conventional group, who received traditional oral explanation for preoperative conversation, while 132 patients treated during Jul. and Dec.2021 were classified as the video group who watched animated video for preoperative conversation. The two groups of patients and their families were compared in terms of operation awareness, satisfaction of preoperative conversation, anxiety, preoperative ECG monitoring abnormalities, medical complaints and so on. 【Results】 The operation awareness [(93.35±2.33) vs. (89.21±2.78) points] and satisfaction of preoperative conversation [(94.27±2.33) vs. (91.36±3.68) points] of the video group were significantly higher than those of the conventional group (P<0.05). In terms of anxiety, abnormal preoperative ECG monitoring and medical complaints, the video group also had significant advantages (P<0.05). 【Conclusion】 Using animated video to assist preoperative conversation can effectively improve the awareness of patients and their families about the operation, and alleviate the anxiety and fear of patients, so that they are more cooperative. This ensures the smooth operation and reduces the occurrence of postoperative complaints.
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The development of medical and health services calls for a harmonious doctor-patient relationship. From the perspective of education, good communication is a positive factor in building a harmonious doctor-patient relationship ecology. The action path to strengthen the ideological and political construction of the doctor-patient communication course is the need to cultivate high-quality medical students, which is conducive to the ideological and political education of medical students and the teaching effect of the doctor-patient communication course. To improve the ideological and political construction system of the doctor-patient communication course, efforts should be made in four dimensions: strengthen the ideological and political quality of teachers, excavate and make good use of ideological and political elements of the doctor-patient communication course, enhance the dominant and recessive dual educational narration, form a joint force mechanism for the ideological and political system of the doctor-patient communication course.
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To improve overall satisfaction of patients with the hospital and build a harmonious doctor-patient relationship, a survey on satisfaction of patients with ECG examination was conducted in a tertiary A hospital. The analysis was carried out from the aspects of inspection environment, inspection process, inspection experience and overall satisfaction. Logistic regression model was used to analyze the effect of various variables on satisfaction. This paper found that the overall satisfaction rate of patients with ECG examination was 85.18%, lower than that of outpatients. Patients with different characteristics had different satisfaction degree with ECG examination. Patient satisfaction was lower on Mondays and Wednesdays than that on other inspection days, and was lower between 10 a.m. and 14 p.m. The longer the waiting time, the lower satisfaction degree of patients with examination. Based on the results, hospitals should improve the construction of humanistic soft environment to improve the medical environment, scientifically plan the medical treatment process of ECG examination, and further strengthen doctor-patient communication. The ECG room should further promote its management level and strengthen its cultural construction.
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With the increasing number of cancer patients in China, the lack of hospice communication between medical staff and cancer patients can easily cause doctor-patient conflicts. Facing the special group of cancer patients, by introducing the concept of hospice communication and comparing the current situation of hospice communication of cancer patients at home and abroad, this paper found the shortcomings of hospice communication between medical staff and cancer patients in China. This paper aimed to analyze the influencing factors of cancer patients’ hospice communication from three aspects of medical staff, cancer patients and social and cultural background, summarized the assessment tools and matters needing attention related to hospice communication, so as to provide reference for domestic medical staff to develop relevant tools for hospice communication with cancer patients, and help medical staff to implement more effective hospice communication with cancer patients in the context of tranquil care. It is also conducive to help patients open the topic of death from the perspective of doctors and build an open hospice communication environment that is more in line with national conditions of China.
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As one of the important contents and links of doctor-patient communication, the quality of breaking bad news will affect the development of doctor-patient relationship. Bad news informed not only involves the feedback of clinical medical diagnosis results, but also involves special knowledge training and clinical experience accumulation, as well as ethical, legal, social custom and other factors. At present, it is still a difficult problem troubling physicians in the medical environment. From the different perspectives of doctors, patients and family members, this paper sorted out the domestic and international status of breaking bad news, revealed its internal dilemmas, and summarized the informing strategies to cope with these dilemmas, with a view to providing references for hospital managers and medical staff to earlier identify and properly inform, helping both doctors and patients to get rid of the dilemma of notification and improve the doctor-patient relationship.
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To promote the ideological and political construction of the doctor-patient communication course, the research group discussed the subject characteristics and proposed the goals, principles, elements, and paths of the ideological and political construction of the doctor-patient communication course combined with practical teaching and relevant policy documents. Besides, this paper put forward the top-level framework design for the implementation, curriculum assessment, and evaluation indicators of the ideological and political construction, and developed the Guidelines for Ideological and Political Teaching of the Doctor-patient Communication Course and related teaching evaluation indicators, with a view to providing reference evaluation standards for the ideological and political construction of the doctor-patient communication course in China.
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This paper mainly explored the application of medical games in doctor-patient communication in pediatric otorhinolaryngology. Taking the "Little Warrior Break Through" medical game service of Shenzhen Longgang District Otolaryngology Hospital as an example, doctors, nurses and social workers formed a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary team. Focusing on the three major problems in pediatric otorhinolaryngology, namely, the tense doctor-patient relationship, the insufficient doctor-patient communication, and the difficulty of children to cooperate with treatment, the team carried out a series of themed medical games covering the three stages of admission preparation, preoperative counseling, and postoperative rehabilitation for pediatric otolaryngology patients and their families. This paper showed that medical games can effectively help children and their families to ease tension, promote doctor-patient communication, increase the symmetry of doctor-patient information, improve children’s adaptation and acceptance of diseases, and ease the tense doctor-patient relationship. It is hoped that the exploration of the medical game service of "Little Warrior Break Through" will inspire medical social work, and then build micro-operation methods in clinical practice to help construct a harmonious doctor-patient relationship.
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Doctor-patient shared decision-making is a medical decision-making model that involves mutual interaction and communication between doctors and patients. The lack of patient’s subjectivity is mainly manifested in the departure of patients’ "subject" caused by the deviation of medical purpose and the influence of traditional culture, the weak position of patients formed by the difference in the strength of social role, the obstacle of doctor-patient communication caused by the difference of disease situation perception, etc., which has become a prominent problem hindering the development of doctor-patient shared decision-making mode. Taking the mutual subjectivity of doctors and patients as the premise, effective doctor-patient communication as the basis, and doctor-patient shared decision-making as the main axis, the construction of concentric medical care under a doctor-patient community with a shared future can help build up the subjectivity and mutual relationship between doctors and patients, and provide a path for the retrieval of patient subjectivity.
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【Objective:】 To understand the development of narrative medicine in medical schools and the cognitive level of narrative medicine among medical students. 【Methods:】 Taking 2,353 medical students nationwide as the research subjects, Knowledge, Attitude/Belief, Practice (KAP) questionnaire was distributed online to conduct a survey. The survey results were analyzed from the perspectives of general knowledge, ways to understand narrative medicine, and cognitive level of parallel medical records. 【Results:】 44.50% of the survey respondents had never learned about narrative medicine, and 50.79% of them had never heard of parallel medical records. 26.80% of the survey respondents had participated in the training of narrative medicine courses, while most medical students learned about narrative medicine through other ways. 【Conclusion:】 This paper showed that the majority of the survey respondents are not familiar with the key concepts of narrative medicine. By introducing the concept of big culture in anthropology into medical college education or exploring the perspective of doctor-patient interaction, integrating communication models to improve doctor-patient relationships. The current popularization level of parallel medical records and narrative types among medical students is not good, and the cultivation of cultural sensitivity and reflective ability may help promote the teaching and application of parallel medical records. Multiple learning pathways lay the foundation for further teaching, and build a diversified teaching system to enrich the course content, which should be the focus of promoting narrative medicine education in the future.
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Objective:To explore the effectiveness of situational simulation teaching in the clinical clerkship education of endodontics.Methods:Stomatology students from Batch 2015 of Xinjiang Medical University were selected and randomly divided into two groups, experimental group ( n=28), taking situational simulation teaching and control group ( n=27), taking traditional teaching. The SEGUE scale was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching methods. SPSS 21.0 software was used for independent samples t-test. Results:The theoretical results of the experimental group [(91.31±3.37) points] were higher than those of the control group [(87.93±4.28) points], with significant differences ( P < 0.05). According to the scores of SEGUE scale, the communication ability scores before and after teaching in the experimental group were (9.07±3.37) points and (21.86±2.47) points, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05); the control group were (8.85±3.43) points and (15.67±2.87) points, respectively; the teaching effect of the experimental group was significantly better than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05). Conclusion:The application of situational simulation teaching can effectively improve doctor-patient communication skills of medical students, thereby promoting the combination of theory and practice, and has a positive impact on improving students' clinical practice communication skills in the future.
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Objective:To explore the application of GLTC (goodwill, listening, talking, and cooperation) doctor-patient communication mode combined with case-oriented teaching in prosthodontics practice teaching.Methods:Thirty undergraduates majoring in stomatology who practiced in West China/Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University from July 2019 to July 2020 were selected and randomly divided into the control group ( n=15) and the observation group ( n=15). The control group used the case-oriented teaching, and the observation group adopted the GLTC doctor-patient communication mode combined with the case-oriented teaching. The performance of clinical practice (theoretical performance, medical record analysis performance, operation performance, lecture performance), interns' doctor-patient communication ability, and interns' teaching subjective evaluation of the two groups were evaluated. SPSS 22.0 was used for t-test and Chi-square test. Results:The theoretical performance, medical record analysis performance, operation performance, and lecture performance of the interns in the observation group were better than those in the control group ( P < 0.05). The score of Liverpool doctor communication ability evaluation scale in the observation group was higher than that in the control group ( P<0.05). In the subjective evaluation of the teaching mode of the interns, the improvement of learning interest, collective awareness, language expression ability, comprehensive analysis ability, and clinical operation ability in the observation group were better than those in the control group ( P<0.05). Conclusion:The GLTC doctor-patient communication model combined with the case-oriented teaching method is effective in prosthodontics practice teaching, which can effectively improve the professional knowledge and skills of interns and improve their teaching satisfaction and doctor-patient communication ability.
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Objective:To design a set of gastroscope doctor-patient communication micro video teaching materials based on narrative medicine to be applied for junior doctors and medical students before and after gastroscopic diagnosis and treatment of communication skills training, and explore the application effect of teaching materials in the training.Methods:Based on the concept of narrative medicine, combined with the modern doctor-patient communication guide (Calgary-Cambridge Guide), a micro video textbook for doctor-patient communication in the whole process of gastroscope diagnosis and treatment was designed and used to demonstrate the main doctor-patient communication involved in each segment before and after gastroscope operation. A total of 32 junior doctors and medical students of a tertiary hospital in Guangdong from August 2019 to October 2020 were divided into two groups, with 15 trainees in control group and 17 trainees in experimental group. The experimental group was instructed by teachers with video teaching materials, while the control group was instructed by teachers with traditional oral teaching method. The two groups completed the study and took the written test and interview of doctor-patient communication. The scores between the two groups were compared, and the scores of the first and second examination in each group were compared. SPSS 19.0 was performed for t test and chi-square test. Results:The scores of the two written tests in the experimental group [(86.32±3.87), (84.84±4.84)] were better than those in the control group [(82.33±4.94), (72.00±5.62)], and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05). There was significant difference in scores between the two written tests in the control group, and the first test was better than the second test ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the scores between the two written tests in the experimental group ( P>0.05). The two interview scores of the experimental group were better than those of the control group, with statistical significance ( P<0.05). The scores difference between the two interviews in the control group and the experimental group were statistically significant, and the first was better than the second ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Micro video textbook of doctor-patient communication based on narrative medicine helps students improve their skills of doctor-patient communication in gastroscopy, and has obvious advantages over traditional teaching in maintaining the training effect.
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Objective:To explore the effect of collaborative teaching on anesthesia nursing.Methods:A total of 50 anesthesiology nursing undergraduates were randomly selected from the Batch 2018 of Harbin Medical University as experimental group and control group respectively. The two groups completed the teaching tasks in the same teaching hours. The control group was taught by traditional teaching method. The experimental group was jointly taught by the teaching team composed of anesthesia nursing teachers, humanistic medicine teachers and ideological and political teachers. After the completion of teaching, the two groups of students were surveyed by questionnaire to evaluate the teaching effect. SPSS 22.0 was used Fisher's exact probability test.Results:The questionnaire results showed that in the evaluation of collaborative teaching, the evaluation of expanded ideological, political and humanistic knowledge (96.00%, 48/50), strengthened the understanding of theoretical knowledge (88.00%, 44/50), improved doctor-patient communication ability (90.00%, 45/50), improved clinical strain ability (94.00%, 47/50), and improved professional identity (86.00%, 43/50) of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group ( P<0.05). Conclusion:The collaborative teaching method in anesthesiology nursing course can not only strengthen students' mastery of clinical skills, but also cultivate lofty sense of mission and professional spirit, strengthen doctors' benevolent belief, improve medical students' comprehensive quality in an all-round way, and promote the development of new medical education.
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Objective:To explore the application of Balint group activities in the doctor-patient communication skills training for standardized residency training of internal medicine.Methods:The students from Batch 2018 and some from Batch 2019 participating in the standardized residency training in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University were selected as the research subjects. SPSS 22.0 was used to perform paired t test for comparison before and after training, and the SEGUE scale was used to evaluate the doctor-patient communication ability of the physicians before and after the training of the Balint group. A questionnaire survey was performed to collect their understanding of doctor-patient communication status and evaluate the training activities. Results:All the residents recognized the importance of doctor-patient communication and clarified the main reasons for the communication of doctors and patients. After receiving the training of doctor-patient communication focusing on group activities, the total score of SEGUE scale increased from (15.40±5.65) to (19.84±1.92), and the residents significantly improved their ability in such five dimensions as stopping inquiry, understanding patients, passing information, collecting information and ready to start ( P<0.001), with a satisfaction rate of 92.00% (69/75) for training methods and contents. Conclusion:The doctor-patient communication ability of the residents needs to be further improved. Balint group activities have enriched the form of doctor-patient communication training, which is helpful for doctors to strengthen their professional confidence and build a harmonious doctor-patient relationship.
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Resumo O processo de comunicação é central na relação médico-paciente. É fato que para evitar distanásia deve se dispor dos cuidados paliativos como alternativa. Assim, objetivou-se avaliar a qualidade da comunicação de más notícias realizadas por médicos, na perspectiva de pacientes em processo de finitude, comparando seus índices entre aqueles em cuidados paliativos e em distanásia. Realizou-se uma pesquisa quantitativa, com amostra não probabilística, formada por 234 pacientes com câncer em processo de finitude, oriundos de cinco unidades hospitalares do Ceará, que responderam a dois questionários - um biodemográfico e outro de avaliação da comunicação, analisados por meio de estatística descritiva e bivariada. Os resultados demonstraram a importância da relação médico-paciente. Enquanto os pacientes em distanásia expressaram terem sido melhor preparados para o estabelecimento de uma adequada comunicação, os que estavam em cuidados paliativos relataram uma experiência menos negativa em relação à 'comunicação de más notícias' - fruto de um adequado preparo do médico paliativista, bem como da participação efetiva da família na decisão terapêutica. Conclui-se que as etapas de preparação para a comunicação, transmissão da informação, acolhimento e fechamento devem estar baseadas na identificação do conteúdo prévio dos pacientes sobre a doença e suas expectativas de informação.
Abstract The communication process is central to the doctor-patient relationship. It is a fact that to avoid dysthanasia, palliative care must be available as an alternative. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the quality of bad news communication performed by physicians from the perspective of patients in the process of finitude, comparing their rates between those in palliative care and those in dysthanasia. A quantitative research was carried out, with a non-probabilistic sample, made up of 234 cancer patients in the process of dying, coming from five hospital units in the state of Ceará, Brazil, who answered two questionnaires-one biodemographic and the other assessing communication, analyzed by means of descriptive and bivariate statistics. The results demonstrated the importance of the doctor-patient relationship. While dysthanasia patients expressed that they were better prepared for establishing adequate communication, those in palliative care reported a less negative experience regarding "communicating bad news"-the result of adequate preparation by the palliative care physician as well as effective family participation in the therapeutic decision. It is concluded that the steps of preparation for communication, transmission of information, reception and closure should be based on identifying the patients' prior content about the disease and their expectations of information.
Resumen El proceso de comunicación es central en la relación médico-paciente. Es un hecho que, para evitar la distanasia, los cuidados paliativos deben estar disponibles como alternativa. Así, el objetivo fue evaluar la calidad de la comunicación de malas noticias realizada por médicos, desde la perspectiva de pacientes en proceso de finitud, comparando sus índices entre aquellos en cuidados paliativos y en distanasia. Se realizó una investigación cuantitativa, con una muestra no probabilística, formada por 234 pacientes con cáncer en proceso de finitud, provenientes de cinco unidades hospitalarias de Ceará, Brasil, que respondieron dos cuestionarios - uno biodemográfico y otro para evaluar la comunicación, analizados a través de estadísticas descriptivas y bivariadas. Los resultados demostraron la importancia de la relación médico-paciente. Mientras los pacientes en distanasia expresaron haber estado mejor preparados para el establecimiento de una comunicación adecuada, los de cuidados paliativos relataron una experiencia menos negativa en relación a la 'comunicación de malas noticias' - resultado de la adecuada preparación del médico de cuidados paliativos, así como de la participación efectiva de la familia en la decisión terapéutica. Se concluye que las etapas de preparación para la comunicación, transmisión de la información, recepción y cierre deben basarse en la identificación del contenido previo de los pacientes sobre la enfermedad y sus expectativas de información.