A series of made-up questionnaire composed of 10 item was given to the groups of different category of people such as the group of patients suffering from a cancer, the group of dependents, the group of the medical students, and the group of
doctors,
after the patients were diagnosed as having cancers, in order to find out the emotional trend related with necessity of notification of a presence of the cancer and how much they were interested in and expected of knowing the facts.
Among the total of 935 different people including 74 cancer patients, hospitalized during the period of May, 1991 through February, 1992, at the Chungnam National University Hospital /7 dependents of the same group of patients, 325 medical
students, 147
nursing students of the university and 336 medical practitioners (including dentist) in the vicinity of the Chung Chong province including Daejeon, were described with following results:
1. 83.8% of cancer patients, 77.5% of dependents, 94.8% of medical students, 96.6% of nursing students and 88.1% of doctors, equivalent to 90.6% of the total indicated a preference for telling a cancer patient and the results were statistically
led
to
the significance rate of p<0.05.
2. About the main reasons for truth telling to cancer patients, 43.5% of cancer patients and 38.2% of dependents expressed reasons because everyone should, fundamentally, have a right to know or notified of the name of the disease which they were
suffering from. On the other hand, 57.8% of medical student, 63.4% of nursing students and 56.8% of doctor described they must live and manage remainder days of their lives meaningfully.
3. In the case of the cancer in him/herself or dependents, the rate of truth telling to the case was 93.0% and 75.9%, respectively.
4. As high as 64.4% of the all respondents expected to be notified of the case by the doctors 57.9% wanted to be notified right after treatment and 52.5% liked to be notified the fact at the hospital.
5. 78.4% of the cancer patients, 75.7% of the dependents wished to be treated toward recovery most properly and adequately up to the last minutes under appropriate supervision of the doctors wished to do the best in the remainder days of their
lives.
6. 50.0% of cancer patients, 52.1% of dependents and 37.2% of doctors would be suffering from feeling of mental anguishes because of future days of their dependents. 44.3% of medical students and 53.2% of nursing students expressed they would
feel
mental anguishes due to separation from their loved one like own dependents.
7. In was noted that a group of respondents with high education would expect more to be notified of the facts than other groups (p<0.001). And there were no statistical significance in the different sex and religion.
|