Giving Bad News: A Qualitative Research Exploration

BACKGROUND: The manner in which healthcare professionals deliver bad news affects the way it is received, interpreted, understood, and dealt with. Despite the fact that clinicians are responsible for breaking bad news, it has been shown that they lack skills necessary to perform this task. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to explore Iranian mothers’ experiences to receive bad news about their children cancer and to summarize suggestions for improving delivering bad news by healthcare providers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A qualitative approach using content analysis was adopted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 mothers from two pediatric hospitals in Iran. RESULTS: Five major categories emerged from the data analysis, including dumping information, shock and upset, emotional work, burden of delivering bad news to the family members, and a room for multidisciplinary approach. CONCLUSIONS: Effective communication of healthcare team with mothers is required during breaking bad news. Using multidisciplinary approaches to prevent harmful reactions and providing appropriate support are recommended.