Hinton J
Br Med J. 1980 Nov 15;281(6251):1328-30. doi: 10.1136/bmj.281.6251.1328.
Eighty married patients dying of cancer were assessed for their overt awareness of their condition. Of the 62 who discussed the possibility of dying, 22 had spoken of this to hospital staff, 43 to their husband or wife, and 53 to the interviewer. Those more certain of dying were more likely to speak about it. Patients previously considered "nervous" people more often showed their awareness, but current anxiety had no consistent effect. More overt sharing of awareness tended to happen in marriages considered average or poor by the spouse than in some closer marital partnerships. The patients' communication of awareness to wife or husband was consistently better when the spouse favoured telling the patient. Patients also tended to disclose their awareness of dying more frequently to those staff prepared to discuss the matter. The findings have implications for the care of the dying.
对80名身患癌症濒临死亡的已婚患者进行了评估，以了解他们对自身病情的公开知晓程度。在62名讨论过死亡可能性的患者中，22人曾与医院工作人员谈及此事，43人告知了自己的丈夫或妻子，53人向采访者透露过。那些更确定自己即将死亡的患者更有可能谈论此事。之前被认为“神经质”的患者更常表现出他们的知晓情况，但当前的焦虑情绪并无一致影响。与一些关系更亲密的婚姻伴侣相比，在配偶认为婚姻状况一般或较差的婚姻中，对知晓情况的公开分享往往更多。当配偶倾向于告知患者时，患者与妻子或丈夫之间关于知晓情况的沟通始终更好。患者也倾向于更频繁地向那些准备讨论此事的工作人员透露他们对死亡的知晓情况。这些发现对临终关怀具有启示意义。
