Awareness and Skills of Libyan Physicians in Delivering Bad News to Patients at Tripoli University Hospital

Abstract

Breaking bad news (BBN) to patients is a highly sensitive challenge that, sooner or later, all physicians must face. It is one of the most difficult responsibilities in the practice of medicine. Physicians should learn good communication techniques to assist patients in overcoming negative news. Therefore, the study is presented to evaluate the awareness and skills of Libyan physicians in delivering bad news to their patients. A cross-sectional study was carried out at Tripoli University Hospital (TUH) from the first of April 2021 until the last of July 2022. In Libya, a structured questionnaire based on the 6-step SPIKES protocol for BBN was administered to 150 physicians working at the TUH to assess their awareness and training. About 46% of the physicians had good awareness of the components of the 6-step SPIKES protocol, while 53% implemented the protocol at the accepted level. There was statistical significance between awareness level, age, and gender. There was no significant relation among physicians with regards to their qualifications, physicians with PhD degrees, or registrar, and medical officers about awareness and practice scores. There is a weak positive correlation between the awareness group score and the training group score (r=0.20. p=0.015). Physicians' BBN awareness is at an accepted level, and their method of practice is accepted as well. BBN is a neglected topic in medical education and training, especially among physicians under the age of 31.