# Delivering bad news in clinical practice: the role of communication skills and emotional intelligence among Polish healthcare professionals

## TL;DR

This study explores how communication skills and emotional intelligence affect Polish healthcare professionals when delivering bad news to patients.

## Contribution

It provides empirical insights into communication and emotional intelligence in Central and Eastern Europe, where such data are limited.

## Key findings

- Nurses showed stronger communication skills and openness to delivering bad news compared to physicians.
- Emotional intelligence factors like using emotions in reasoning positively influenced communication readiness.
- Effect sizes were small, suggesting limited practical impact of these factors alone.

## Abstract

Effective communication and emotional intelligence (EI) are essential to ethically grounded, patient-centred care, particularly when delivering bad news (BBN). Despite growing attention in international healthcare education, empirical data from Central and Eastern Europe remain scarce.

Methods this cross-sectional study surveyed 929 Polish healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses, paramedics, midwives, and physiotherapists). Standardised instruments included the Health Professionals Communication Skills Scale (HP-CSS), the Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (INTE), and the Breaking Bad News Attitudes Scale (BBNAS). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlations, and multiple regression.

Results nurses, and to a lesser extent physicians, demonstrated stronger communication competencies and higher openness to breaking bad news (BBNAS Openness). Both positive (informative communication, INTE I – using emotions in reasoning) and negative predictors (Respect, INTE II – recognising emotions) were identified. Effect sizes were small (η² ≤ 0.04; adjusted R² = 0.02–0.06), indicating that, although statistically significant, the findings had a limited practical impact.

Conclusions the findings underscore the significance of emotional intelligence and practical communication skills in equipping healthcare professionals to manage emotionally demanding interactions effectively. Tailored training integrated into medical education may foster more confident, ethical, and patient-centred BBN practices. However, the modest effect sizes suggest that multiple psychological and organisational factors contribute to readiness.