en Multidisciplinary Orginal research <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height:2;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><b><span style="color:#2980b9;">Background:</span> </b>Breaking bad news (BBN) is a challenging communication process that requires skill, training, and sensitivity to patients&#39; cultural values. However, limited evidence exists on whether healthcare providers&#39; practices align with patients&#39; attitudes.<br> <span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><span lang="EN-GB">Objective:</span></b></span> This study aimed to compare healthcare providers&#39; practices with patients&#39; attitudes regarding the delivery of bad news.<br> <b><span style="color:#2980b9;">Methods</span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color:#2980b9;">:</span> </span></b><span lang="EN-GB">This cross-sectional study was conducted at Marjan Hospital in Babylon, Iraq, from September to October 2025. A total of 167 hospitalized patients who had received bad news were recruited using quota sampling. Data were collected through a demographic questionnaire and two self-report questionnaires assessing healthcare providers&#39; performance and patients&#39; attitudes toward breaking bad news. The data were entered into SPSS version 21 and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson&#39;s correlation test. </span><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""></span></b><br> <span style="color:#2980b9;"><b>Results: </b></span>The mean (SD) scores for healthcare providers&#39; performance and patients&#39; attitudes were 8.97 (2.01) out of 19 and 62.19 (2.30) out of 76, respectively. No significant correlation was found between the total scores of healthcare providers&#39; performance and patients&#39; attitudes (r = &minus;0.14, p = 0.14), although significant correlations were observed for several individual items.<br> <span style="color:#2980b9;"><b>Conclusion</b>:</span> The findings showed significant differences between patients&#39; attitudes and healthcare providers&#39; performance in several aspects of breaking bad news. These findings highlight the need for educational programs and culturally sensitive communication strategies to better align clinical practice with patients&#39; preferences.<span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""></span></span></span></span></div> Breaking bad news Health personnel Patient attitude Communication 0 0 http://nmcjournal.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1089-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Karrar Abbas Abdulriha KARI@yahoo.com 100319475328460015201 100319475328460015201 No Ahmed Mohammad Jasim vatandomues@gmail.com 100319475328460015202 100319475328460015202 No University of Babylon, college of nursing, Babylon, Iraq salam vatandost ggg@yahoo.com 100319475328460015203 100319475328460015203 Yes Clinical Care Research Center, Research Institute for Health Development, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.