Nurses' knowledge and performance of the patients' bill of rights

The relationship professional commitment and ethics with patient rights: a cross-sectional descriptive study

BACKGROUND

Ethical behavior of health workers is an important part of health services. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between ethics and professional commitment and its relationship with the level of respect for patient rights in medical students.

MATERIAL & METHODS

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with the participation of nursing, midwifery and emergency medicine students of Ilam University of Medical Sciences. Sampling was done by stratified random method. The data was collected using Demographic, Professional Commitment, Professional ethics and a researcher made questioner on compliance with patient rights questionnaires.

RESULTS

300 students were participated. The results showed that the average score of professional ethics in middle school students is high (64.07 ± 8.01), the average score of professional commitment is also high (64.07 ± 8.01) and the score of respect for patient rights is also high (10.74). ± 83.46) was obtained. The professional ethics score it showed a positive and statistically significant relationship with the patient's rights compliance score. only professional commitment is related to gender, but the average of all three variables in different age groups and the type of residence (dormitory, private home, etc.) have meaningful statistical difference.

CONCLUSION

The findings of the study show that the level of ethics and professional commitment and respect for patient rights among nursing, midwifery and emergency medicine students was good. It is hoped that the results of this research will provide a basis for better planning for the development of knowledge and respect for patient rights among students.

Respecting the Patient's Right to Information in Hospital Wards in Poland - Socio-Economic Determinants of Patients' Opinions

Background

Implementation of the patient's statutory right to information is one of determinants the quality and safety of medical services. The patients' opinions survey is an element of patient-centric care, which is now one of the most important things in modern healthcare. The main aim of the work is to examine patients' opinions on the observance of patients' right to information in the hospital and quality of healthcare in the hospital. A secondary objective was to examine the impact of socioeconomic variables on patients' opinions.

Materials and Methods

The study was based on the Computer-Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) questionnaire, carried out in March 2022. The sample included 801 persons. Respondents were patients hospitalized within a maximum of 12 months. The questionnaire contained closed questions about the quality of medical care, observance of the patient's right to information.

Results

Probability of referral was measured using the Net Promoter Score (NPS). Respondents answered the question about the recommendation on a scale from 0 to 10. People who rated the hospital ward at 10 and 9 are promoters, people who rated the hospital ward at 8 and 7 are neutral people. In turn, people who rated the hospital ward at 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 or 0 are critics, ie people who will not recommend the hospital to their relatives. Most patients in hospital wards were the detractors (37%). The percentage of promoters was only 1% lower (36%) than that of the detractors. Patients was rated medical and nursing staff at a similar level with regard to the observance of the patient's right to information.

Conclusion

Most statistically significant differences in the assessment of medical care in the hospital ward were associated with such sociodemographic variables as age and income. People aged 55-64 and 65+ rated most of the analyzed aspects better.

Knowledge of the Patients' Bill of Rights and Influencing Factors Among University Nursing Students

Background Nursing students, the future nursing workforce, are expected to be exposed to ethically challenging situations in their workplaces, and they must be knowledgeable about patients' rights to provide holistic care. However, limited research was cited on the knowledge of nursing students regarding the Bill of Rights and the factors influencing their knowledge. Purpose This study aimed to assess nursing students' knowledge of the patients' bill of rights and determine what factors influence this knowledge in Saudi Arabia. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional research study was conducted with a convenience sample of nursing students (N = 210) in a Saudi nursing college. Data were collected using a questionnaire that consists of three parts: demographic characteristics, knowledge of the patients' bill of rights, and six open-ended and reflective questions. Descriptive statistics and response analysis are used. Results The statistics showed that the total knowledge score about patients' rights ranged from 19 to 34, with a mean of 26.11 ± 2.32, among nursing students. About two-thirds of students reported adequate knowledge (n = 118, 65.5%), compared to those who had inadequate knowledge (n = 62, 34.5%). In addition to academic level and age, students reflected on many factors that shape their ethical knowledge, such as integrated, interprofessional learning experiences, workshops, a supportive and ethical learning environment, and the presence of an ethical committee. Conclusion Continuous efforts to foster ethics education with inspiring learning content and innovative instructional material are vital to improving nursing students' knowledge and readiness. Interprofessional education (IPE) sessions and awareness programs are effective strategies to improve their ethical awareness and knowledge.

Evaluation of Dentists' Attitudes Towards Principles of Professional Ethics

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this research was to investigate attitudes towards principles of professional ethics (PPE) amongst Iranian dentists working in Isfahan, Iran.

METHODS

This pilot cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 273 dentists in Isfahan, Iran. A validated, comprehensive questionnaire including principles of respect for patient autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice was used to evaluate dentistry professional ethics aspects. Age, gender, marital status, type of graduate university, level of education, specialised field of study, work experience, workplace, and participation in ethics workshops and courses were registered from participants. Total and domains scores of used questionnaires were calculated and compared across categories of study participants' characteristics.

RESULTS

Mean ± SD age of participants was 35.4 ± 10.7 years, and 57% were female; about 73% graduated from Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, and 65% were general dentists. The attitude total score of dentists towards PPE was 133.02 ± 13.16. Mean total score of the questionnaire and its domains was different significantly (P < .05) across categories of level of education, marital status, and passing the ethical courses.

CONCLUSIONS

The attitude of dentists towards PPE was rated at a good level. However, improvement in attitudes of some specific subgroups such as general dentists and newly graduated ones is needed. Conducting specific workshops about professional ethics and incorporating these principles into university curricula can be beneficial.

Compliance with the ethical competence framework by head nurses

BACKGROUND

Head nurses have duties in providing nursing care and ethical supervision to the nurses in the unit. Compliance with the ethical competence framework for head nurses is essential in fostering an ethical climate in the organization.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this research is to study the head nurses' compliance with the ethical competence framework by the Thailand Nursing and Midwifery Council (TNMC).

METHODS

The study is a qualitative research, using in-depth interviews conducted among 20 head nurses practicing in a super tertiary hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. The sample was selected using a criterion sampling method. The head nurses' ethical experience relating to work practice was analyzed by thematic analysis.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The ethical approval of this study was obtained from the Committee for Research Ethics (Social Sciences), Mahidol University, and from the Institutional Review Board of the hospital in which the study was conducted.

RESULTS

From the thematic analysis of the ethical experience practiced by the head nurses, 8 themes and 16 sub-themes were categorized across 5 ethical competencies based on the ethical competence framework by the TNMC. It was found that all the identified themes and sub-themes conformed to the ethical competence framework, and demonstrated the head nurses' compliance with the framework.

DISCUSSION

Head nurses' ethical experience in practice conforms to the ethical competence framework by the TNMC. The framework that is based on the Code of conduct and the nursing culture that places the importance of the seniority system may facilitate the compliance with the ethical competence framework.

CONCLUSION

Head nurses demonstrated compliance with the ethical competence framework by the TNMC. Nevertheless, improvements could be done to the framework by adding details such as more examples of ethical decision-making scenarios, personnel's rights, and social media usage guidelines.

Ethics in healthcare: Knowledge, attitude and practices of nurses in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana

Background

Nursing is a profession that care for personal and private aspects of people’s lives. Therefore, nurses need to know the basic ethical aspects of nursing which is integral in nursing practices. The purpose of the study was to describe the ethical knowledge, attitude and practice of nurses in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana.

Method

A cross-section design was used to collect data from 264 nurses in three selected healthcare facilities in the Metropolis. A structured questionnaire was administered to all the categories of these nurses in the selected facilities. Frequency counts and multiple regression statistics were used to analyze the data.

Results

The results show 78% of nurses possess good ethical knowledge, 84% had a positive attitude, while 98% had good ethical practices. The results further show that nurses’ professional rank [F (1, 259), 2.35, p = .02] and academic qualification [F (1, 259), 2.67, p = .008] were significant predictors of their ethical knowledge and attitude, respectively.

Conclusion

Inadequate resources, poor set up of working areas and understaffing are the major barriers limiting the practice of good ethical standards among the nurses. The Regional Health Directorate, the Ministry of Health and the Managers in charge of the health facilities need to work together to eliminate these barriers as they have the potential to negatively impact quality healthcare delivery in the Metropolis.

Nurses' attitudes and knowledge regarding patient rights: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

To synthesize current evidence on nurses' attitudes and/or knowledge on the entire spectrum of patient rights.

METHOD

A systematic search of the literature was performed in Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and CINAHL. Studies were selected according to pre-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria. The Cochrane and PRISMA guidelines, including templates for systematic reviews, were applied. For rigor assessment, the Critical Appraisal Skills Program Qualitative Research Checklist, and the Center for Evidence-Based Management tool were employed.

RESULTS

Thirteen studies were included, that exhibited important methodological limitations, such as convenience sampling, mediocre response rates and inadequate instrument validity. Findings indicated: a) low level of awareness regarding patient rights among nurses, b) knowledge discrepancies on specific aspects of patient rights, c) low priority ascribed to a patient's right to access information, and d) insufficient evidence on formal educational sources of knowledge on the topic of patient rights.

CONCLUSION

Narrow geographical localization, heterogeneity and methodological limitations render generalizability of the conclusions difficult. Further research based on robust methodology is proposed.

Personalized Healthcare: The Importance of Patients' Rights in Clinical Practice from the Perspective of Nursing Students in Poland, Spain and Slovakia-A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: This study aimed to define the role and importance of patients’ rights in personalized healthcare from the perspective of nursing students in Poland, Spain and Slovakia. Methods: The research was carried out by means of a diagnostic survey, using the survey technique, with the participation of 1002 nursing students attending a full-time undergraduate study program at three European countries. The “Patients’ rights” questionnaire was used as a research tool. The average age of students was 21.6 years (±3.4). The empirical material collected was subjected to a statistical analysis. Results: The study demonstrated that 72.1% of nursing students from Spain, 51.2% from Poland and 38.5% from Slovakia believe that patients’ rights are respected at a good level in their country. Significant intergroup differences (F = 67.43; p < 0.0001) were observed in the self-assessment of students’ knowledge of patients’ rights. The highest average values were obtained by students from Spain (3.54 ± 0.92), while 35.9% of students from Slovakia and 25.5% from Poland were quite critical and pointed to their low level of knowledge of patients’ rights in their self-assessment. When ranking patients’ rights related to respecting dignity, students from Spain obtained much higher average values (4.37 ± 0.92) than students from the other two countries. Conclusions: The level of students’ knowledge of patients’ rights and the respect for patients’ rights by medical personnel is, in the opinion of the respondents, quite diverse and requires in-depth educational activities among nursing students at the university level in respective countries.

Awareness of the Importance of and Adherence to Patients' Rights Among Physicians and Nurses in Oman: An analytical cross-sectional study across different levels of healthcare

Objectives

This study aimed to determine the extent to which physicians and nurses in Oman were aware of the importance of and adhere to patients’ rights and whether this differed according to role, nationality, position and institutional healthcare level.

Methods

This analytical cross-sectional study was carried out between December 2015 and March 2016 at various governmental healthcare institutions in Oman. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 1,385 practitioners at all healthcare levels.

Results

A total of 1,213 healthcare practitioners (response rate: 87.58%) completed the survey, of which 685 (56.47%) were nurses and 528 (43.53%) were physicians. Overall, awareness of the importance of patients’ rights was high (91.51%), although adherence to these rights in practice was low (63.81%). The right of the patient to be informed was considered least important and was least adhered to (81.2% and 56.39%). Nationality, role and institutional level were significantly associated with awareness (P = 0.002, 0.024 and 0.034, respectively). Non-Omani staff were significantly more likely than Omani staff to be aware of (odds ratio [OR] = 1.696; P = 0.032) and adhere to (OR = 2.769; P <0.001) patient rights. Furthermore, tertiary care staff were twice as likely as primary care staff to perceive the importance of patient rights (OR = 2.076; P = 0.019). While physicians were more likely than nurses to be aware of the importance of patient rights, this difference was not significant (OR = 1.516; P = 0.126).

Conclusion

These findings may help inform measures to enhance awareness of and adherence to patients’ rights in Oman.

Operationalization of patients' rights in Sudan: Quantifying nurses' knowledge

BACKGROUND

Promoting patients' rights is essential for defining the standards of clinical services within a country. Given their responsibilities, nurses can be the primary target for research to investigate the issue of patients' rights within a healthcare system. As such, assessing the knowledge of nurses about patients' rights is an essential step toward improving the quality of healthcare in limited resource settings like Sudan.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to assess the level of knowledge about patients' rights among the nursing staff at Friendship Teaching Hospital in Sudan.

METHODS

This hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out at the Friendship Teaching Hospital in Sudan. We surveyed the totality of nurses (95) at the hospital using an amended survey. The data were analyzed in SPSS software using descriptive and inferential statistics.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATION

The study was approved by the Research Unit of Khartoum Ministry of Health and the Hospital administration. All respondents gave verbal consent prior to participating in the study.

RESULTS

Only 48.4% of the participants knew about the existence of the Sudanese Charter of patients' rights. Nonetheless, our analysis found that 65.8% of nurses had acceptable level of knowledge (scored more than 75% of the total knowledge score) of patients' rights, and none of the participant scored less than 50% of the total knowledge score. Finally, we found no statistical association between the knowledge score and demographic data, educational level, whether the participant knows about the existence of the Charter or not and a number of other factors.

CONCLUSION

Nurses' lack of knowledge about the existence of the Sudanese Charter of patients' rights adopted in 2009 rights confirms the need for further efforts by Ministry of Health to promote the document. Furthermore, further research is needed to investigate the disconnect between nurses' lack of knowledge about the existence of the charter and their awareness of the rights within the charter as well as the actual implementation of rights.

The related factors of compliance to professional codes of ethics from midwives' perspective working in healthcare centers of Tehran-Iran

Introduction

Professional ethics is an important issue in every organization. This study was designed to define compliance level to professional codes of ethics and some of its related factors in midwives working at healthcare centers.

Methods

This cross sectional study was conducted in 2013 Tehran Iran. 125 midwives from the governmental healthcare centers of Tehran were selected through stratified quota sampling method. Data gathering tool was a self-reporting questionnaire which included: demographic characteristics, Iranian version of ethical codes of reproductive health providers, applicability of these ethical codes and awareness about the professional codes of ethical. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS v.16. p level at 0.05.

Results

Compliance to the professional ethical codes were directly correlated to the income level of the midwives, the applicability of the codes and the midwives' awareness about them.

Conclusion

It is necessary to pay attention to professional ethics and its teaching as such. It is also important to monitor compliance to the ethical codes. Moreover, living conditions of the midwives should be one of the priorities to enhance their performance.

On the violation of hospitalized patients' rights: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND:

Nurses have always been known as an advocate for the rights of patients. The recognition of what is perceived as the violation of patients' rights can help nurses to understand patients' concerns and priorities. Thus, it helps nurses play their supportive roles more effectively.

OBJECTIVE:

The aim of this study was to explore different dimensions of the violation of patients' rights.

RESEARCH DESIGN:

Data were collected utilizing unstructured interviews and field notes. Data analysis was conducted using the qualitative content analysis approach. Prolonged engagement, maximum variation sampling, and member check were among the factors which enriched the research.

PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT:

The sample consisted of 18 patients and 11 members of their families. They were purposively selected from two hospitals in Tehran during 2009-2012.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The research was approved by the Ethics Committee of the university and hospitals.

FINDING:

The patients' rights were violated in a variety of ways. There were three main dimensions to this issue: (a) care recession including deprivation of the caregiver's presence and the delay/lack of needed responses; (b) receiving mechanical care including superficiality, lack of emotion, and failure to understand the situation; and (c) being disrespected including humility and aggression.

CONCLUSION:

The patients and their families consider any shortcomings in relation to the patient and the quality of care as the violation of the rights. The findings of the study imply sensitizing managers toward providing appropriate conditions as well as educating nurses to observe patients' rights. It is suggested that the processes leading to the violation of patients' rights be discovered and prevented in the future.