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Enrolling by Invitation

NCT Number: NCT04308707

Breaking Bad News Skills of Doctors and Residents in the Surgical Setting

Breaking bad news is a very stressful and difficult situation for health care professionals, especially clinical doctors and surgeons. Acquiring skills for this sort of communication is very important due to the large volume of times that these professionals will have to deal with it and because it can affect the doctor-patient relationship forever.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the skill of surgeons and residents in surgical specialties in breaking bad news to patients and families across Spanish hospitals. This will be done by analyzing the subjects in terms of their knowledge and experience using a specialized questionnaire based on breaking bad news protocol, designed in the "Hospital Sant Joan de Déu" Children's hospital in Barcelona.

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Key information

Conditions

Communication Research Behavior Communication Communication Programs Doctor Patient Relation Health Behavior Patient Satisfaction Treatment Adherence and Compliance

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Hospital Uiversitari Mútua de Terrassa

Barcelona, 08036, Spain

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Doctors working in the Surgical Setting that accept and answer the specialized questionnaire.

Exclusion criteria

  • Questionnaire answered out of the time-frame
  • Incomplete questionnaires

Treatment and study plan

Breaking bad news skills

Other

Communication skills analyzed by a specialized questionnaire designed from a Breaking bad news protocol developed in 2018-2019 in Barcelona.

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of times having to communicate a bad new in the last year.

    Time frame: Two months

    Question on our questionnaire. The answer will be a number, expected to be from 0 to 200, approximately.

  2. Number of hours in training in communication and breaking bad news skills.

    Time frame: Two months

    Question on our questionnaire. The answer will be the number of hours of professional training in the specific field of communication to patients.

  3. Self-evaluation of the skills in breaking bad news and their self-perceived quality.

    Time frame: Two months

    In the self-administered questionnaire, 21 questions reflect specific and important items in communication designed from "La Primera notícia", a Breaking bad news protocol designed I the pediatric hospital "Hospital Sant Joan de Déu" in Barcelona.

    Data will be analyzed using GraphPad.

  4. Knowledge of Second victim concept

    Time frame: Two months

    Direct question in our questionnaire: we ask the health-care professionals to define the Second victim concept.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Where have the professionals acquired their skills in breaking bad news if they have not taken a training program?

    Time frame: Two months

    Question on our questionnaire. Possible answers are:

    • With the observation of peers and seniors.
    • Studying by themselves from books and papers.
    • Studying by themselves from videos and other internet content.
    • With the experience of years of working.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Hospital Clinic of Barcelona

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Breaking Bad News Skills of Doctors and Residents in Anesthesia and Surgical Specialties in Spain: a Cross-sectional Survey

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2026
First posted
Mar 16, 2020
Registry last updated
Oct 8, 2024

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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