Baseline characteristics
psychiatric, tumour, anxiety/depression, Swiss disability
REGRESSION, TUMOUR
A total of 474 (51.6%) patients had at least one sensitive topic needing discussion during the ward round. In total, 791 sensitive topics emerged during ward round discussions, including: medical uncertainty (n=251), psychiatric comorbidities (n=161), tumour diagnosis (n=137), social issues (n=125), non-adherence (n=43), previous conflicts between patient and treating team (n=38) and treatment failure (n=36) (Sensitive topics and their frequency (n=791).Associations of patient characteristics with sensitive topicsSignificant p-values were marked in bold.*Adjusted for study centre, intervention. ORs were calculated with logistic regression models.IV, Swiss disability insurance; n, number; VAS, Visual Analogue Scale.The mean age was 65 years±15.9 years (SD). Patients with and without sensitive topics were of comparable age. Overall, 39.3% (n=361) of patients were women with no differences regarding the occurrence of sensitive topics to that of men. Patients’ number of children, family status, citizenship, level of education and occupation were not associated with the presence of sensitive topics. Individuals with psychiatric comorbidities, however, were more likely to have sensitive topics present (73/474 (15.4%) vs 31/445 (7.0%), p<0.001; adjusted OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.21 to 3.2; p=0.006). Quality of life regarding mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression was perceived lower by patients with sensitive topics; consequently resulting in a lower EQ-5D quality of life index score.