Evaluate the collective function of references cited together in a given text segment.
Classify their combined role into one of the following categories: 'method', 'background', or 'result'.

Text:A doctor may add to a patient’s distress by telling them distressing news, thus adding to a patient’s problems; That the truth cannot be communicated because a doctor is rarely, or never, in a position to know the truth or because a patient would rarely, if ever, be in a position to understand the truth; That patients do not wish to be told the truth.(2)
Category: