Breaking bad news: Awareness and practice among Sudanese doctors

Mumen Abdalazim Dafallah; Esraa Ahmed Ragab; Mahmoud Hussien Salih; Wail Nuri Osman; Roaa Omer Mohammed; Mugtaba Osman; Mohamed H. Taha; Mohamed H. Ahmed; Mumen Abdalazim Dafallah; Esraa Ahmed Ragab; Mahmoud Hussien Salih; Wail Nuri Osman; Roaa Omer Mohammed; Mugtaba Osman; Mohamed H. Taha; Mohamed H. Ahmed

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2020058

AIMS Public Health

2020, Volume 7, Issue 4: 758-768. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2020058

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Research article

Breaking bad news: Awareness and practice among Sudanese doctors

1.
Faculty of Medicine, University of Gezira, Sudan
2.
Armed Forces Centre for Psychiatric Care, Taif, Saudi Arabia
3.
College of Medicine and Medical Education Center, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
4.
Department of Medicine and HIV Metabolic Clinic, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Eaglestone, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK

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.
- breaking bad news,
- Sudan
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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Abstract

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.

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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