The conspiracy of silence in families of the terminal oncological patients

Abstract

The subject of ‘the conspiracy of silence’ is addressed following a bio-psycho-social model and taking into account current knowledge in the fields of psychooncology and palliative care, as well as research carried out both nationally and internationally. Objective: The purpose of the present research was to study the attitude of families towards informing oncology patients suffering from terminal cancer about their illness. Method: A two-phase descriptive transversal study was carried out. The first phase had as objective the development and administration of a semi-structured interview to the patient’s family. Once administered, a content analysis identified six possible factors, which then led to the SCS (Silence Conspiracy Scale). The second phase, ‘The Facing Death Burgess Scale’ and ‘The revised profile of attitudes towards death’, were administered entailed both calculating the psychometric properties of the SCS. A sociodemographic questionnaire and SCS were administrated as well extracting additional relevant information. Sample: two groups, one group compound of careviger`s oncological patients (n= 101) and another group of people from the general population with no ill family members (n=114). Results: At the time of dying, only 21% of patients knew their diagnosis and prognosis. The fi rst factor identifi ed as carrying more weight in avoiding communicating the diagnosis was fear of the negative consequences taken place by the communication. Conclusion: The need to prepare those involved in the process, i.e. patients, their families and health professionals, is shown.