Purpose: This study explored the impact of demographic, medical and psychological characteristics on patient preferences for communication on bad news.
Participants and Methods: Five hundreds and eighteen patients with a variety of cancers were participated. Participants completed a measure assessing their preferences regarding the disclosure of bad news, consists of 70 items in 4 factors: how to deliver the bad news, reassurance and emotional support, additional information, and setting. They rated several psychosocial and medical characteristics, including the Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale (MAC) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).
Results: Regression analyses indicated that younger patients and those with higher education, the fighting spirit and anxious preoccupation dimensions of the MAC had significantly higher scores on the ‘how to deliver the bad news’ scale; women and patients with the fighting spirit and anxious preoccupation dimensions of the MAC had significantly higher scores on the ‘reassurance and emotional support’ scale; young patients and those with low satisfaction in own experience of the breaking bad news, higher education, the fighting spirit, the helplessness/hopelessness and anxious preoccupation dimensions of the MAC had significantly higher scores on the ‘additional information’ scale; older, male, and patients with the fatalism dimension of the MAC had significantly higher scores on the ‘setting’ scale.
Conclusion: Japanese physicians should consider the demographic (e.g. age, gender) and psychosocial characteristics (fighting spirit and anxious preoccupation) of patients when delivering bad news.