Parvaneh Abazari - Nursing and Midwifery Sciences Development Research Center, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
Maryam Ehsani - Nursing Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
Fariba Taleghani - Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Facualty of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Science, Isfahan, Iran
Simin Hematti - Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Azadeh Malekian - Psychosomatic Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Fariborz Mokarian - Cancer Prevention Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Sayyed Mohammad Reza Hakimian - Cancer Prevention Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

Background: The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of implementing domestic truth-telling protocol on stress, anxiety, and depression in cancer patients. Method: In this study, a semi-experimental design was used to examine the effect of truth-telling protocol implementation on psychological factors (i.e., stress, anxiety, and depression) in cancer patients. A total of ۶۰ cancer patients participated in this study, ۳۰ of them in the intervention group (who informed their disease with truth-telling protocol) and ۳۰ others in the control group (who informed their disease with usual way and without protocol). Patients’ psychological factors were compared in intervention and control groups, three and eight weeks after the cancer disclosure by depression, anxiety, and stress scale-۲۱. Results: In this study, except higher stress level of patients in intervention compared to the control group, no statistically significant difference was seen in other variables three weeks after cancer disclosure (P=۰.۰۴۶, Z= -۱.۹۹). Eight weeks after the intervention, all variables were significantly lower in the intervention group (P=۰.۰۰۰, Z=-۵.۸۶۴; P= ۰.۰۰۰, Z=-۰.۶۵۱; P=۰.۰۰۰, Z=-۵.۳۵۱). Conclusion: Exercising truth-telling practice through implementing a localized culture-based protocol, especially after passing the initial acute phase of hearing the bad news, can lead to improved psychological factors in cancer patients.

Truth-telling, Domestic protocol, cancer, Breaking bad news