Competence of Primary Healthcare Physicians in Breaking Bad News in Eastern Province Capital of Saudi Arabia
Abstract: Background one of the most physicians important and difficult duties is breaking bad news (BBN). Objectives The present study aimed to assess knowledge, perceived importance and competence of primary health care (PHC) physicians in Eastern Province Capital in Saudi Arabia about BBN for patients. Material and methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in 24 governmental PHC centers of Dammam among practicing physicians using self-administered questionnaire. Results Out of 119 participants, 58 % were female physicians and 49 % were Saudis. Most of them had bachelor degree in medicine (84.9 %). In-service trained on BBN was 40.3 %. The average number of patients seen per day was 48 patients. The average number of BBN per month was 6. Among all physicians 23.5 % had poor knowledge and 9.2 % had good knowledge about BBN. The perceived competence was low in 15.1 % and high in 40.3 %, while the level of perceived importance was high in 64.7 % and low in 5.9 %. Female physicians showed significant better knowledge (p=.04). Those who received in-service training showed significant better knowledge (p
Keywords: Breaking Bad News, BBN
How to Cite?: Nada A. Albunaian, Manal R. Koura, "Competence of Primary Healthcare Physicians in Breaking Bad News in Eastern Province Capital of Saudi Arabia", Volume 6 Issue 7, July 2017, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1931-1935, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=ART20175819, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/ART20175819