Table 1 Descriptive data

1

Gender

 Male

104 (27.15%)

 Female

279 (72.85%)

2

Age

45,32 years (range 18–83 years)

 18–30

74 (19.32%)

 31–40

72 (18.80%)

 41–50

80 (20.89%)

 51–60

106 (27.68%)

 > 60

51 (13.32%)

3

Level of education

 Junior high school

73 (19.06%)

 Senior high school

209 (54.57%)

 Graduate / Doctorate

101 (26.37%)

4

Your disease has been diagnosed

 more than a year ago

310 (80.94%)

 less than a year ago

32 (8.36%)

 less than six month ago

32 (8.36%)

 missing

9 (2.35%)

5

First diagnosis communicated by

 Doctor ward

221 (57.70%)

 Department head

82 (21.41%)

 Family doctor

26 (6.79%)

 Relative

20 (5.22%)

 Another physician

16 (4.18%)

 Doctor undergoing specialized training

15 (3.92%)

 Other healthcare worker

3 (0.78%)

6

The truth about diagnosis must be told

 always and in full

192 (50.13%)

 always, but in a personalised way

191 (49.87%)

7

The truth about prognosis must be told

 always, but in a personalised way

206 (53.79%)

 always and in full

174 (45.43%)

 never

3 (0.78%)

8

During the first encounter with the doctor you were

 accompanied by one or more people

294 (76.76%)

 alone

89 (23.24%)

9

During the subsequent communication encounter with the doctor you were

 accompanied by one or more people

288 (75.20%)

 alone

95 (24.80%)

10

Lying to the patient is

 not legitimate

321 (83.81%)

 legitimate

62 (16.19%)

11

The doctor who omits a part of the truth to avoid pain to the patient

 lies

248 (64.75%)

 does not lie

135 (35.25%)

12

During your illness, you have preferred

 to know the truth always

355 (92.69)

 not to know the truth always

28 (7.31%)

13

If you chose “to know always the truth” as the answer to the previous question, indicate the reason

 in order to organize my life and that of my relatives

64 (18%)

 because, by character, I am convinced that the truth makes free

28 (8%)

 because knowing the true allow me to better face illness

263 (74%)

14

If you chose “not to know always the truth” as the answer to the previous question, indicate the reason

 because, by character, I prefer not to know

2 (6%)

 because during the illness I felt more fragile

9 (31%)

 because not knowing the true allow me to better face illness

17 (63%)

15

How much the way to communicate used by the doctor who diagnosed the disease did affect your way of dealing with your illness?

 1 = not at all affected

25 (6.53%)

 2 = slightly affected

19 (4.96%)

 3 = neither affected nor not-affected

66 (17.23%)

 4 = affected

122 (31.85%)

 5 = completely affected

151 (39.43%)

16

During the care pathway as a patient you have been

 active and collaborative

299 (78.07%)

 sometimes active and collaborative and sometimes passive and non-collaborative

75 (19.58%)

 passive and non-collaborative

9 (2.35%)

17

For the physicians give bad news is

 1 = very difficult

190 (49.61%)

 2 = difficult

88 (22.98%)

 3 = neither difficult nor easy

78 (20.37%)

 4 = easy

14 (3.66%)

 5 = very easy

13 (3.39%)

18

How much are you satisfied with the communication occurred with the doctors during your illness?

 1 = not at all satisfied

18 (4.70%

 2 = slightly satisfied

29 (7.57%)

 3 = moderately satisfied

83 (21.67%)

 4 = satisfied

117 (30.55%)

 5 = completely satisfied

136 (35.51%)

19

If you think that something did not function in communicating with your doctor, indicate what:

 the use of a too technical and/or too difficult to understand language

79 (20,63%)

 the use of a too simplistic language

22 (5.22%)

 the limited time spent with me during the encounters

124 (32.38%)

 the chosen place for communicating

16 (4.18%)

 the physician’s failure to comprehend the patient’s needs

75 (19.58%)

 the presence of my relatives

19 (4.96%)

 other

48 (12.53%)

20

Do you think that something should be improved in doctor-patient communication?

open-ended question