View article

 Disclosure of a diagnosis of cancer to patients is a major problem among physicians in Italy. The aim of the study was to assess physicians' attitudes to and opinions about disclosure. A convenience sample of 675 physicians in Udine (North Italy) completed a ten-item questionnaire. About 45% indicated that, in principle, patients should always be informed of the diagnosis, but only 25% reported that they always disclosed the diagnosis in practice. Physicians with a surgical specialization employed in general hospitals endorsed disclosure of the diagnosis more frequently than GPs and older physicians. One third of the responding physicians persist in the belief that the patients never want to know the truth. Hospital doctors considered the hospital, rather than the patient's home, was the most appropriate place to inform the patients. The opposite result was found among GPs. Almost all the physicians …