Quality of communication questionnaire (QOC) item characteristics
| QOC Items | Missing# % (n) | Doctor didn't do % (n) | Scoring 0 out of 10 % (n) | Scoring 10 out of 10 % (n) | Mean±sd score¶ | Range | Scoring ≤5 out of 10 % (n)+ |
| Using words you understand | 6.1 (7) | 2.6 (3) | 0.0 (0) | 39.1 (45) | 8.76±1.46 | 4–10 | 5.7 (6) |
| Looking you in eye | 4.3 (5) | 0.9 (1) | 0.0 (0) | 51.3 (59) | 8.94±1.65 | 3–10 | 7.3 (8) |
| Including loved ones in treatment discussions | 6.1 (7) | 37.4 (43) | 0.0 (0) | 27.8 (32) | 8.85±1.67 | 2–10 | 6.2 (4) |
| Answering all questions about illness | 2.6 (3) | 1.7 (2) | 0.9 (1) | 56.5 (65) | 9.01±1.68 | 0–10 | 5.5 (6) |
| Listening to what you have to say | 1.7 (2) | 0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | 59.1 (68) | 9.05±1.56 | 2–10 | 5.3 (6) |
| Caring about you as a person | 6.1 (7) | 0 (0) | 0.;9 (1) | 47 (54) | 8.82±1.74 | 0–10 | 8.3 (9) |
| Giving full attention | 1.7 (2) | 0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | 56.5 (65) | 9.07±1.56 | 1–10 | 4.4 (5) |
| Talking about your feelings about getting sicker | 3.5 (4) | 43.5 (50) | 0.0 (0) | 23.5 (27) | 8.46±2.05 | 2–10 | 14.8 (9) |
| Talking about details if you got sicker | 1.7 (2) | 47.0 (54) | 0.9 (1) | 21.7 (25) | 8.25±2.32 | 0–10 | 16.9 (10) |
| Talking about how long you have to live | 3.5 (4) | 74.8 (86) | 0.9 (1) | 11.3 (13) | 7.68±3.09 | 0–10 | 28.0 (7) |
| Talking about what dying might be like | 5.2 (6) | 87.0 (100) | 0.0 (0) | 4.3 (5) | 8.67±2.35 | 3–10 | 11.1 (1) |
| Talking with loved ones about what dying might be like | 6.1 (7) | 88.7 (102) | 0.0 (0) | 2.6 (3) | 9.00±1.26 | 7–10 | 0 (0) |
| Involving you in treatment discussion aboutyour care | 5.2 (6) | 47.8 (55) | 0.9 (1) | 17.4 (20) | 8.39±2.11 | 0–10 | 13.0 (7) |
| Asking you about important things in life | 4.3 (5) | 48.7 (56) | 0.9 (1) | 16.5 (19) | 8.41±1.97 | 0–10 | 11.1 (6) |
| Respecting important things in your life | 8.7 (10) | 21.7 (25) | 0.9 (1) | 37.4 (43) | 8.94±1.77 | 0–10 | 8.8 (7) |
| Asking about spiritual, religious beliefs | 2.6 (3) | 82.6 (95) | 0.9 (1) | 3.5 (4) | 7.18±3.07 | 0–10 | 29.4 (5) |
| Respecting spiritual, religious beliefs | 17.4 (20) | 46.1 (53) | 0.0 (0) | 19.1 (22) | 8.50±2.45 | 1–10 | 16.7 (7) |
| QOC summary score (transformed to 0–100 scale) | 1.7 (2) | 0.0 (0) | 19.1 (22) | 87.37±14.90 | 7.50–100 | 1.8 (5) |
#: missing includes “don't know” and “refusal” responses
¶: item scores on a scale of 0–10 and summary score transformed to 0–100
+: % based on number of valid responses