Cancer disclosure in Japan: Historical comparisons, current practices

Elwyn, Todd S.; Fetters, Michael D.; Gorenflo, Daniel W.; Tsuda, Tsukasa

doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(97)10042-9

Cited by 94 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…First, the low rate of awareness may reflect the attitude of the doctor in avoiding informing patients about a cancer diagnosis, as found in studies from the other oriental countries [13,20,45]. Clinical experience and research evidence suggest that many cancer patients in Turkey are not well informed about their diagnosis and prognosis, although relatives are informed [16].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychiatric morbidity among cancer patients and awareness of illness

Ateşçi

Baltalarli

Oğuzhanoğlu

et al. 2004

Supportive Care in Cancer

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A significant proportion of cancer patients experience psychiatric morbidity. Potential predictors of psychiatric morbidity include patient disease-related factors and factors relating to the patient's environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity and the relationship between the clinical or personal factors, especially psychiatric morbidity, and awareness of cancer diagnosis among a group of Turkish cancer patients. A total of 117 cancer patients were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID), the Hospital and Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Of these patients, 30% had a psychiatric diagnosis. Adjustment disorders comprised most of the psychiatric diagnoses. Awareness of the diagnosis of cancer, history of previous psychiatric disorders, pain and stress factors were correlated with psychiatric morbidity. Of the 117 patients, 64 (54.7%) were unaware of the diagnosis of cancer. Most of the patients (67.9%) who were considered to be aware of the cancer diagnosis stated that they had guessed their illness from the treatment process or drug adverse effects. Psychiatric morbidity was significantly higher in the patients who knew that they had a cancer diagnosis (P=0.03). These findings suggest that the awareness of cancer diagnosis is related to the presence of psychiatric morbidity. In particular, the understanding of the diagnosis indirectly may be stressful to the patient because it arouses suspicion about the cancer and treatment, and consequently can lead to psychiatric disturbance. In Turkey honest disclosure of the true diagnosis is still not common for cancer patients and it seems to be essential to improve this situation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychiatric morbidity among cancer patients and awareness of illness

Ateşçi

Baltalarli

Oğuzhanoğlu

et al. 2004

Supportive Care in Cancer

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“…This nonverbal communication is especially important in end-of-life care for Japanese. 20,26,28 It is critical for physicians to recognize that culturally competent interaction requires attention to the multidimensional aspects of communication. 60 Our results suggest that disclosure preference changes with acculturation but that wide variability exists within groups.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acculturation of attitudes toward end-of-life care

et al. 2002

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“…The literature on physician-patient communication in Japanese health care shows that the issue of 'disclosure' (i. e. telling the diagnosis of cancer to the patient) is a very important one (Elwyn et al, 1998). It also indicates that Japanese oncologists are moving towards the view which is increasingly more prevalent in Western oncology: patients are being told more about the nature of their complaints, symptoms and ailments.…”

Section: Physician-patient Interaction In Japanmentioning

confidence: 99%