Breaking bad news: Awareness and practice among Sudanese doctors

BACKGROUND: Breaking bad news is an important task for doctors in different specialties. The aim of the study was to assess adherence of Sudanese doctors to the SPIKES protocol in breaking bad news. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study recruited 192 doctors, at Wad Medani teaching hospital, Sudan. A questionnaire-based on SPIKES protocol was distributed among 10 departments in our hospital. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Microsoft excel. RESULTS: There were (n = 101, 52.6%) females and (n = 91, 47.4%) males among the participants. 95.3% have been involved in breaking bad news, but only 56.3 received education and training about this issue. 43% admitted bad experience in breaking bad news, while 65.6% mentioned that bad news should be delivered directly to patients. The majority (>90%) agreed training is needed in the area of breaking bad news. Usual adherence to the SPIKES protocol was reported in a range of 35–79%, sometimes adherence was reported in a range of 20–44% while never adherence was reported in a range of zero–13.5%. Consultants, registrars, obstetrician and gynecologists and surgeons achieved high scores in breaking bad news. Training is an important factor in achieving high score in SPIKES protocol. The unadjusted effect of background factors on SPIKES score, showed that only training has significant impact on protocol adherence (P = 0.034, unadjusted; and P = 0.038 adjusted). CONCLUSION: Large number of Sudanese doctors will try to adhere to SPIKES protocol. Training is an important factor in the success of breaking bad news.