Nurse’s View on the Delivering Unpleasant News to Patients and Families in Al Ahsa Governorate Hospitals

Background: One of the toughest and most challenging elements of the medical field is communicating unpleasant news to patients and their companions. Delivering Bad news is commonly understood to be the important information that healthcare provider shares with patients and their families regarding diagnosis, prognosis, deteriorations or course of treatment. The therapeutic team should also recognize the patients’ social, psychological, and clinical concerns, and offer support to the person receiving the news. The study aimed to investigate the perceptions of nurses delivering unpleasant news to patients and their relatives. Research Design: A cross-sectional multicenter study was applied in the current study. Setting: The study was conducted in the largest government hospital in Al Ahsa. Sample this study carried out on 309 nurses of various area of specialization and work settings in Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. A Nurses perception about delivering unpleasant news questionnaire was used in the study, which consisted of two parts. Results: The overwhelming majority of nurses believe that physicians are responsible for delivering bad news (85.1%). In addition, it has been found that nurses in Al Ahsa Governorate Hospitals provide moderate to high levels of psychological and environmental support, with male nurses providing greater psychological and environmental support to patients and families. Conclusion: Based on the current study, many nurses believe that physicians are responsible for delivering bad news (85.1%), in addition, nurses generally perceive moderate to high levels of psychological and environmental support when breaking bad news to the patients. Recommendation: Considering the results of our study, bad news handling training needs to be addressed in the curriculum of nursing programs. Further research is required to investigate the effect of training programs on healthcare providers about breaking bad news practice.