Comparing the Performance of Emergency Department Personnel and Patients’ Preferences in Breaking Bad News

Abstract

Objective: Breaking bad news (BBN) is a critical aspect of healthcare delivery that can have significantimplications for patients’ outcomes. Inadequate and inappropriate delivery of bad news can result in detrimentalpsychological and emotional effects. This study aimed to compare the performance of emergency department(ED) personnel and patients’ preferences in BBN.Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2022, and 135 patients who were admitted to theED were included using quota sampling. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, a researchermadequestionnaire, and a standard questionnaire on attitudes toward the methods of BBN in the ED. The datawere analyzed using SPSS software (version 16), and a p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The results showed that the majority of patients (69.6%) received bad news from nurses. Based on theconditions mentioned in the standard questionnaire, the overall performance of personnel was 6.08±4.22 out of19, while the overall attitude score (59.66±7.66 out of 76) revealed patients’ high tendency to receive bad news.There was a statistically significant difference between the total score of personnel performances and the totalscore of patients’ attitudes (p=0.001).Conclusion: The performance of ED personnel concerning patients’ attitudes toward the method of BBN inthe emergency department was not optimal. Therefore, it is recommended to implement appropriate trainingprograms for medical professionals, especially physicians, and nurses, to enhance their communication skillsand reduce the detrimental effects of inappropriate delivery of bad news in medical settings.

Keywords

• employee performance
• breaking bad news
• emergency department
• patient
• attitude