Hostname: page-component-6bf8c574d5-b4m5d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-17T13:32:02.621Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

On Telling the Truth in Alzheimer's Disease: A Pilot Study of Current Practice and Attitudes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2005

Hazel Johnson ,
Walter P. Bouman  and
Gill Pinner
Hazel Johnson
Affiliation:
University Hospital, Nottingham, England, UK.
Walter P. Bouman
Affiliation:
University Hospital, Nottingham, England, UK.
Gill Pinner
Affiliation:
University Hospital, Nottingham, England, UK.
Get access

Abstract

Research suggests there has been a cultural change in the disclosure of diagnosis; most evidence relates to cancer and there is little knowledge of attitudes towards disclosing the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. A questionnaire was used to survey the current practice and attitudes of old-age psychiatrists and geriatricians in Nottingham, UK. The results of this pilot study suggest that only 40% of respondents regularly tell patients the diagnosis. Although physicians are aware of many benefits in disclosing, they have concerns regarding the certainty of diagnosis, the patient's insight, and potential detrimental effects. The advantages of disclosure and the ethical issues involved are discussed.

Type
Dementia
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , June 2000 , pp. 221 - 229
Copyright
© 2000 International Psychogeriatric Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)