ArticleSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2024
Open communication between patients and relatives about illness & death in advanced cancer-results of the eQuiPe Study.
Article in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Communication about incurable illness and remaining life between spouses and patients with incurable illness receiving specialized home care: effects of a family caregiver-targeted web-based psycho-educational intervention.BMC palliative care · 2024Trial
- Developing a death education program based on the needs of family caregivers for advcaned cancer patients: a Delphi study.BMC palliative care · 2026Article
- Kept at a Distance: A Qualitative Study of Bereaved Individuals' Experiences of How Death Was Addressed When Their Partner Died at Home.Qualitative health research · 2026Article
- Values and wishes at the end of life among women with advanced cancer: An analysis using the Go Wish Cards Game.Palliative & supportive care · 2026Article
- Psychosomatics at the threshold: cancer, mood disorders, and the mental pain of death - where precision medicine meets spirituality.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Enhancing Communication Among Patients with Cancer, Caregivers, and Extended Family: Development of a Communication Module.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Review
- Self-disclosure and reproductive concerns among breast cancer female patients: the chain mediation model of couples' cancer-related communication problems and relationship intimacy.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
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16 authors.
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Abstract
objectiveTo assess the degree of openness of communication about illness and death between patients with advanced cancer and their relatives during the last three months of the patient's life, and its association with relatives' characteristics and bereavement distress.
methodsWe used data from bereaved relatives of patients with advanced cancer from the prospective, longitudinal, multicenter, observational eQuipe study. Univariate and multivariable linear regression analyses were used to assess the association between the degree of openness of communication (measured using the validated Caregivers' Communication with patients about Illness and Death scale), the a priori defined characteristics of the relatives, and the degree of bereavement distress (measured using the Impact of Event Scale).
resultsA total of 160 bereaved relatives were included in the analysis. The average degree of open communication about illness and death between patients with advanced cancer and their relatives was 3.86 on a scale of 1 to 5 (SE=0.08). A higher degree of open communication was associated with a lower degree of bereavement distress (p=0.003). No associations were found between the degree of open communication and the relatives' age (p=0.745), gender (p=0.196), level of education (p>0.773), (religious) worldview (p=0.435), type of relationship with the patient (p>0.548), or level of emotional functioning before the patient's death (p=0.075).
conclusionsOpen communication about illness and death between patients and relatives seems to be important, as it is associated with a lower degree of bereavement distress. Healthcare professionals can play an important role in encouraging the dialogue. However, it is important to keep in mind that some people not feel comfortable talking about illness and death.
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