ArticlePsycho-oncology2023
Communicating bad news to patients and families in African oncology settings.
Article in Psycho-oncology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Key challenges in communication across milestones of cancer care continuum: a systematic review.BMC palliative care · 2026Pooled it
- Communication and information needs of patients with cancer in Ghana: A scoping review.PloS one · 2026Article
- Experiences of cancer-related stigma in Africa: A scoping review.International journal of cancer · 2025Article
- A scoping review of clinical communication in cancer care in Africa.The oncologist · 2025Article
- Cancer health literacy in Kenya - A scoping review on evidence, concept and a situational analysis of interventions.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Communication to adult patients undergoing cancer care by non-specialist nurses: a scoping review protocol.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Global psycho-oncology in low middle-income countries: Challenges and opportunities.Psycho-oncology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
aimsTo assess clinicians' self-reported knowledge of current policies in African oncology settings, of their personal communication practices around sharing bad news with patients, and to identify barriers to the sharing of serious news in these settings.
methodsA cross-sectional study of cancer care providers in African oncology settings (N = 125) was conducted. Factor analysis was used to assess cross-cultural adaptation and uptake of an evidence-based protocol for disclosing bad news to patients with cancer and of providers' perceived barriers to disclosing bad news to patients with cancer. Analysis of Various (ANOVA) was used to assess strength of association with each dimension of these two measurement models by various categorical variables.
resultsProviders from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda represented 85% of survey respondents. Two independent, psychometrically reliable, multi-dimensional measurement models were derived to assess providers' personal communication practices and providers' perceived barriers to disclosing a cancer diagnosis. Forty percent (40%) of respondent nurses but only 20% of respondent physicians had had formal communications skills training. Approximately 20%-25% of respondent physicians and nurses reported having a consistent plan or strategy for communicating bad news to their cancer patients.
conclusionsResults show that effective communication about cancer diagnosis and prognosis requires an appreciation and clinical skill set that blends an understanding of cancer-related internalized stigmas harbored by patient and family, dilemmas posed by treatment affordability, and the need to navigate family wishes about cancer-related diagnoses in the context of African oncology settings. Findings underscore the need for culturally grounded communications research and program design.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.