Department of Radiation Medicine, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria.
J Palliat Med. 2011 Jun;14(6):700-3. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2010.0440. Epub 2011 May 19.
The perceptions of Nigerian physicians on truth-telling for cancer diagnosis and prognosis have not been widely studied. There is a need to know the perception of the doctors on truth telling so as to inform appropriate professional education on the subject.
To ascertain the perceptions of the physicians on truth-telling for cancer diagnosis and prognosis.
A cross-sectional study was done with a self-administered questionnaire to 228 physicians available in the clinics and seminars at the hospital between January and April 2010.
A total of 173 questionnaires were returned. Eighty-one (46.8%) always, 54 (31.2%) generally, and 38 (22%) rarely disclose cancer diagnosis and favorable prognosis to patients. Only 7.5% would disclose the truth of the prognosis to patients when the cancer is advanced. Physicians' age, specialty, training in palliative care, and doctors' views on truth disclosure if he/she had cancer significantly influenced the doctors' practice of truth-telling for cancer diagnosis.
The physicians who treat cancer patients in southeast Nigeria tend to practice truth-telling for cancer diagnosis but not for a poor prognosis. Most of the physicians need training in physician-patient communication.
尼日利亚医生对癌症诊断和预后告知的看法尚未得到广泛研究。有必要了解医生对告知真相的看法，以便为这一主题提供适当的专业教育。
确定医生对癌症诊断和预后告知的看法。
2010 年 1 月至 4 月，对医院诊所和研讨会上的 228 名医生进行了横断面研究，采用自我管理式问卷进行调查。
共收回 173 份问卷。81 名（46.8%）医生总是、54 名（31.2%）医生通常、38 名（22%）医生很少向患者透露癌症诊断和良好的预后。只有 7.5%的医生会在癌症晚期时向患者透露预后的真相。医生的年龄、专业、姑息治疗培训以及医生对自己患有癌症时是否告知真相的看法，显著影响了医生对癌症诊断告知的实践。
在尼日利亚东南部治疗癌症患者的医生倾向于对癌症诊断告知，但不会对预后不良的情况告知。大多数医生需要接受医患沟通方面的培训。
