The importance of effective communication in terminal diagnosis and breaking bad news: Focus on meaning, purpose, and strategies

Pages: 947-951
Sisodia Devendra Singh and Vaiphei Suantak Demkhosei (Department of Psychology, Bhupal Nobles University, Udaipur, Rajasthan)

Among all the various existing skills needed in palliative end-of-life care, none is more important the ability to communicate effectively. Terminal ill experience is the time when patients were overwhelmed with several emotional and psychological symptoms, which need maximum amount of care, through effective communication in the most appropriate way. Effective communication is the fundamental component to physician and patient quality relationship, which make clinician to be trust by patient, resulting in quality decision making for patient treatment and future diagnosis plan in clinical practices. However, looking at the present scenario of Indian health care system, the absence of good communication is visible in most of the clinical practices, which becomes the underlying reason for terminal patient receiving unwanted life sustaining medical treatment, along with inappropriate care, which they do not prefer in their diagnosis. Moreover, effective communication also plays an important role in breaking bad news to patient and family. Thus, seeing at the urgent needs of effective communication in clinical practices, the present study is form through fieldwork that is follow up by analytical study.