Role, perspective and knowledge of Iranian critical care nurses about breaking bad news

Background: Given the issue of caring critically ill patients, nurses are involved in the process of breaking bad news in critical care units, while little research has been conducted on this challenging issue.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the role, perspective and knowledge of Iranian critical care nurses regarding breaking bad news.

Methods: This descriptive study was conducted on a sample of 160 nurses working in critical care units of hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Stratified and quota sampling methods were used. The data collection tool was a four-part questionnaire with validity and reliability confirmed via content validity and test-retest, respectively.

Results: The study showed that most critical care nurses were involved in breaking bad news, with different roles. The majority of participants (91.2%) had a positive attitude towards involvement of nurses in breaking bad news. In this study, 78.8% of nurses had moderate knowledge about how to break bad news, and only a few had good level of knowledge (16.2%).

Conclusion: According to the findings, while critical care nurses took different roles in the process of breaking bad news and they had positive attitude towards participation in this process, yet their knowledge about this process was inadequate. Thus, designing educational programmes to enhance critical care nurses' knowledge and skills in this area seems necessary.