THE CHALLENGES DENTISTS FACE TO COMMUNICATE CANCER DIAGNOSIS: SELF-ASSESSMENT BASED ON SPIKES PROTOCOL

Abstract

<h3>Objectives</h3> Developing good communication skills to deliver bad news (DBN) can bring benefits to both patients and professionals. The aim of this study was to characterize the challenges faced by dentists in Brazil when DBN of oral and oropharyngeal cancer diagnoses to patients. A questionnaire based on the guidelines of the SPIKES protocol was used. <h3>Study Design</h3> This is an observational cross-sectional study with application of an online questionnaire. The sample consisted of dentists from Brazil. The questionnaire contained 27 questions based on the SPIKES protocol, which were answered through the SurveyMonkey platform. <h3>Results</h3> A total of 186 dentists answered the questionnaire. The specialties reported were as follows: 36.02% oral medicine, 21.5% oral pathology, 12.36% general practitioner dentists, and 29.03% other. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Dentists who work more often with patients with cancer are more confident in communicating bad news. Despite the percentage of correct survey answers, the heterogeneity of answers among the professionals surveyed suggests that dentists need to improve their communication skills for DBN. Thus, the study reinforces the importance of training dentists in Brazil on how to communicate bad news when patients are diagnosed with oral and oropharyngeal cancer.