[Awareness of diagnosis and prognosis in patients with unfavorable prognosis: perception of the attitudes of a group of doctors and nurses]. / La consapevolezza della diagnosi e della prognosi nella persona con malattia a prognosi infausta:la percezione negli atteggiamenti di un gruppo di medici e infermieri.

In oncological patients , communication of the diagnosis of the disease or its regression and the patient's awareness of both diagnosis and prognosis, plays a central role. Up to a few decades ago , it was common practice not to reveal the diagnosis of cancer. Nowadays, the situation has changed owing to radical socio-cultural changes. However, in daily practice, the most frequent impression is that the patient does not entirely realize the implications of diagnosis and prognosis and health workers find it difficult to inform patients clearly and honestly so that they can decide which cures to accept or decline. An observational study was performed on a group of 153 doctors and nurses to identify their opinions and attitudes regarding how to inform cancer patients, in terms of diagnosis and prognosis, and how they perceived the level of awareness in such patients. The results of the study partly confirmed published data , in that both doctors and nurses thought it best to inform the patient of the oncological pathology, keeping back the unfavorable prognosis and that the percentage of patients really made aware of these implications was lower than officially declared.

Illness awareness of patients in hospice: psychological evaluation and perception of family members and medical staff.

BACKGROUND: Despite the widespread belief that patients should be given full information about their disease and prognosis, they actually they know very little. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the awareness of 100 patients (from the Hospices of Rimini and Savignano-Rubicone) about their diagnoses and prognoses. It is also investigated staff and relatives perceptions of patients' awareness. METHODS: A semistructured interview of patients was performed by psychologists to evaluate their awareness about diagnosis and prognosis. Then psychologists completed a questionnaire about their own evaluation of patients' disease awareness. Moreover, the same questionnaire was completed by family members and by staff members (doctors and nurses) about their perceptions of patients' awareness. Doctors and nurses gave their answers based on their routine interactions with patients. RESULTS: Despite the fact that patients in hospice were in the terminal phase of disease, 30% of patients had no diagnosis awareness, and an even higher percentage of patients (62%) who had no prognosis awareness.