The Perceptions of Patients, Families, Doctors, and Nurses Regarding Malignant Bone Tumor Disclosure in China: A Qualitative Study.
Chunmei Luo, Lei Lei, Yao Yu and 1 others
PMID 33853471WHAT IT FOUND
In Chinese malignant bone tumor care, doctors told families first, and families decided what to tell patients.
Patients wanted tailored disclosure, and nurses said they watched for distress, avoided sensitive words, and listened.
Key findings
01Doctors told family members first, and family members decided whether the patient would be told.
02Patients wanted to know their diagnosis but said disclosure should vary from person to person.
03Nurses said they watched for changes in behaviour and whereabouts and offered listening and comfort.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was done in a single hospital and only included malignant bone tumors, so its themes may not fit other countries, hospitals or cancers. Patients who had not been told their diagnosis were excluded, and the authors did not interview uninformed patients, so the study cannot show what those patients would have wanted. Some eligible patients declined or were not informed, so the sample may represent people already involved in disclosure decisions. All interviews were conducted by the first author, an experienced orthopedic nurse, which may have affected what participants disclosed. Qualitative interviews describe preferences and practices; they do not test whether any disclosure strategy improves distress, autonomy or safety.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. No specific funder is named in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that family-first disclosure or nurse-led psychological support improves patient outcomes. The study only describes what patients, families, doctors and nurses said in a single Chinese bone tumor service, and it did not compare disclosure methods or measure distress, autonomy, treatment uptake or suicide.