Attitudes of patients with cancer towards truth-telling and self-determination in Kerman, 2016: A cross sectional study

Abstract

Background: Regarding the patient autonomy principle, patients have the right to make informed decisions about their medical care. In situations like cancer diagnosis, telling the truth is still a challenge for health care providers, especially in eastern countries. Methods: The present cross sectional study was conducted from March to June 2016, in which the convenience sampling method was used. The questionnaire used to collect data consisted of 3 parts. The first part included demographic characteristics, the second part consisted of 22 items that examined the patients’ attitudes towards truth-telling, third part of the questionnaire was Ende(1989) autonomy preference index (API). Results: The overall scores showed that the participants had a positive tendency to truth-telling and self-determination. The majority of participants believed that knowing the truth might make them more cooperative during treatment period, prevent unnecessary treatments, and help them deal better with their difficulties. Participants reported their preferences for decision making as low and seeking information as high. They preferred that leave decisions be made by doctors. However, they reported a positive attitude towards information seeking. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that Iranian patients with cancer had highly positive attitudes towards truth-telling and self-determination. Patients expect that their physician play the main decision maker role. Moreover, the preference for self decision making is high, correlated with education level.