Research article

Breaking bad news: Awareness and practice among Sudanese doctors

  • Received: 28 June 2020 Accepted: 13 September 2020 Published: 24 September 2020
  • Background Breaking bad news is an important task for doctors in different specialties. The aim of the study was to assess adherence of Sudanese doctors to the SPIKES protocol in breaking bad news. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study recruited 192 doctors, at Wad Medani teaching hospital, Sudan. A questionnaire-based on SPIKES protocol was distributed among 10 departments in our hospital. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Microsoft excel. Results There were (n = 101, 52.6%) females and (n = 91, 47.4%) males among the participants. 95.3% have been involved in breaking bad news, but only 56.3 received education and training about this issue. 43% admitted bad experience in breaking bad news, while 65.6% mentioned that bad news should be delivered directly to patients. The majority (>90%) agreed training is needed in the area of breaking bad news. Usual adherence to the SPIKES protocol was reported in a range of 35–79%, sometimes adherence was reported in a range of 20–44% while never adherence was reported in a range of zero–13.5%. Consultants, registrars, obstetrician and gynecologists and surgeons achieved high scores in breaking bad news. Training is an important factor in achieving high score in SPIKES protocol. The unadjusted effect of background factors on SPIKES score, showed that only training has significant impact on protocol adherence (P = 0.034, unadjusted; and P = 0.038 adjusted). Conclusion Large number of Sudanese doctors will try to adhere to SPIKES protocol. Training is an important factor in the success of breaking bad news.

    Citation: Mumen Abdalazim Dafallah, Esraa Ahmed Ragab, Mahmoud Hussien Salih, Wail Nuri Osman, Roaa Omer Mohammed, Mugtaba Osman, Mohamed H. Taha, Mohamed H. Ahmed. Breaking bad news: Awareness and practice among Sudanese doctors[J]. AIMS Public Health, 2020, 7(4): 758-768. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2020058

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  • Background Breaking bad news is an important task for doctors in different specialties. The aim of the study was to assess adherence of Sudanese doctors to the SPIKES protocol in breaking bad news. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study recruited 192 doctors, at Wad Medani teaching hospital, Sudan. A questionnaire-based on SPIKES protocol was distributed among 10 departments in our hospital. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Microsoft excel. Results There were (n = 101, 52.6%) females and (n = 91, 47.4%) males among the participants. 95.3% have been involved in breaking bad news, but only 56.3 received education and training about this issue. 43% admitted bad experience in breaking bad news, while 65.6% mentioned that bad news should be delivered directly to patients. The majority (>90%) agreed training is needed in the area of breaking bad news. Usual adherence to the SPIKES protocol was reported in a range of 35–79%, sometimes adherence was reported in a range of 20–44% while never adherence was reported in a range of zero–13.5%. Consultants, registrars, obstetrician and gynecologists and surgeons achieved high scores in breaking bad news. Training is an important factor in achieving high score in SPIKES protocol. The unadjusted effect of background factors on SPIKES score, showed that only training has significant impact on protocol adherence (P = 0.034, unadjusted; and P = 0.038 adjusted). Conclusion Large number of Sudanese doctors will try to adhere to SPIKES protocol. Training is an important factor in the success of breaking bad news.


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    Acknowledgments



    The authors would like to thank the participants for taking the time to complete the questionnaire and staff members of the Education Development and Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Gezira, Sudan.

    Conflict of interest



    The authors claim no conflicts of interest.

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