Disclosure of malignant diagnoses, occupational burnout and coping among clinical cytologists

Ostović, Ines. (2012). Disclosure of malignant diagnoses, occupational burnout and coping among clinical cytologists. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Psychology. [mentor Zarevski, Predrag].

PDF (Croatian) - Registered users only Download (239kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

The disclosure of bad news is an important stressor for physicians and a relevant issue because of the transition from a biomedical to a biopsychosocial approach to disease. The aim of this study was to examine the characteristics of disclosure of malignant diagnoses among clinical cytologists in Croatia and the connection between disclosure, occupational burnout and coping. 83 cytologists (82% of all cytologists in Croatia) took part in the research and completed three questionnaires: characteristics of disclosure questionnaire constructed for this research, Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WOC). Half of cytologists personally disclose malignant diagnoses to patients. Most cytologists find diagnosing malignancy and the disclosure of malignant diagnoses stressful. This stress does not change with work experience. Participants show signs of burnout and most of them are emotionally exhausted. Younger cytologists show more signs of depersonalisation and low personal accomplishment. We found no differences in burnout between cytologists that frequently disclose malignant diagnoses and those who do it more rarely. The results showed that escape-avoidance was a nonefficient strategy because it was correlated with all three components of burnout. We found planful problem solving and positive reappraisal to be effective because of their negative relationship with low personal accomplishment. The findings of this research suggest that coping and disclosure frequency are not sufficient in explaining the differences in burnout of cytologists indicating a need for further research.

Actions (login required)

View Item