A Synthesis of the Literature on Breaking Bad News or Truth Telling: Potential for Research in India.
A synthesis of the literature on breaking bad news or truth telling: potential for research in India.
Indian J Palliat Care. 2013 Jan; 19(1): 2-11
Martis L, Westhues A
The high incidence of fatal diseases, inequitable access to health care, and socioeconomic disparities in India generate plentiful clinical bad news including diagnosis of a life-limiting disease, poor prognosis, treatment failure, and impending death. These contexts compel health care professionals to become the messengers of bad news to patients and their families. In global literature on breaking bad news, there is very little about such complex clinical interactions occurring in India or guiding health care providers to do it well. The purpose of this article is to identify the issues for future research that would contribute to the volume, comprehensiveness, and quality of empirical literature on breaking bad news in clinical settings across India. Towards this end, we have synthesized the studies done across the globe on breaking bad news, under four themes: (a) deciding the amount of bad news to deliver; (b) attending to cultural and ethical issues; (c) managing psychological distress; and (d) producing competent messengers of bad news. We believe that robust research is inevitable to build an indigenous knowledge base, enhance communicative competence among health care professionals, and thereby to improve the quality of clinical interactions in India. HubMed – addiction
Impact of psychiatric education and training on attitude of medical students towards mentally ill: A comparative analysis.
Ind Psychiatry J. 2012 Jan; 21(1): 22-31
Yadav T, Arya K, Kataria D, Balhara YP
A number of studies from the western world have explored the negative beliefs held by individuals towards people with mental illness. The knowledge of attitude and awareness of undergraduate medical students towards psychiatry, mental health and mental disorders is of utmost importance.The current study aims at assessment of attitudes of medical students towards mental illness and mentally ill.The study used a cross-sectional survey design. The instruments used included Beliefs toward Mental Illness (BMI) scale, Attitudes to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ). ANOVA was carried out to compare the in between group differences for the four study groups. Additionally Bonferroni correction was used to conduct the post hoc analysis.The interns were significantly more likely to agree with the statement that the mental disorders are recurrent; less likely to be of thought that the behavior of people with mental disorders is unpredictable; more likely to disagree with the fact that diagnosis of depression as described in the case vignette was going to damage the career of the individual; more likely to agree with the option of inviting a depressed person to a party; more likely to believe in fact that mentally ill individuals are more likely to be criminals as compared to medical students in different professional years.Adequate modifications to existing medical curriculum would help improve attitude of medical students towards mentally ill. HubMed – addiction
Understanding the demographic characteristics and health of medically uninsured patients.
Can Fam Physician. 2013 Jun; 59(6): e276-81
Bunn S, Fleming P, Rzeznikiewiz D, Leung FH
To determine demographic and diagnostic information about the medically uninsured patient population and compare it with that of the medically insured patient population at a primary care centre.Medical chart audit.Department of Family and Community Medicine at St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Ont.Medically uninsured patients who were treated in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at St Michael’s Hospital from 2005 to 2009, as well as randomly selected patients who were insured through the Ontario Health Insurance Program.The following information was obtained from patients’ medical charts: patient’s age, sex, and household income; if the patient had a specific diagnosis (ie, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, HIV, tuberculosis, substance addiction, or mental health disorder); if the patient accessed a specific category of primary care (ie, prenatal care or routine pediatric care); and the reason for the patient’s uninsured status.There was no significant difference in the mean age and sex distribution of insured and uninsured patients. The uninsured group had a significantly lower mean household income (P = .02). With the exception of HIV, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of the specific diagnoses studied or in the prevalence of accessing specific categories of primary care between insured and uninsured patients (P > .05). The prevalence of HIV was significantly greater in the uninsured group (24%) than in the insured group (4%) (P = .004). The largest proportion of uninsured patients lacked health insurance owing to the landed immigrant health insurance waiting period (27%), followed by individuals without permanent resident status in Canada (22%). A subgroup analysis of the uninsured, HIV-positive population revealed that the largest proportion of individuals (36%) lacked health insurance because they had no permanent resident status in Canada.Uninsured and insured patients at the primary care centre did not differ significantly with respect to age and sex distribution; prevalence of hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, tuberculosis, substance addiction, or mental health disorder; or the proportion who sought prenatal or routine pediatric care. The landed immigrant 3-month waiting period was the most common reason that uninsured patients lacked health insurance. Uninsured patients in this study lived in lower-income areas than insured patients did. This, combined with the increased prevalence of HIV in the uninsured group, might lead to a large number of uninsured, HIV-positive patients delaying seeking treatment and might have negative implications for public health. HubMed – addiction
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