Knowledge and application of patient’s rights by Emergency Response Team paramedics in the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Abstract

Aim: The analysis of the attitudes exhibited by paramedics in the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in regard to the rights held by patients. Material and methods: The study involved a total of 134 paramedics (100%), including 129 males and 15 females. The mean age of the male participants was 39.03±9.27 years, while for women it was 31.93±7.76 years. The paramedics participating in the study declared both professional higher education (67,16%) and post-secondary education (32,84%). The statistical analysis was carried out in the Statistica 13.1 PL statistical software. Results: The analysis of the obtained results showed that only 22.40% of the participating paramedics became familiar with patient’s rights during their education, with the remaining 71.60% doing so only during their work experience. A satisfactory level of knowledge regarding patient’s rights was declared by 71.60% of the respondents, with the remaining 28.40% deeming it unsatisfactory. Meanwhile, 40.30% of the participating paramedics stated that patient’s rights are always complied with in their workplace, while according to the remaining 59.70%, that is the case only sometimes. Conclusions: Almost 1/3 of the paramedics participating in the research possess an unsatisfactory level of knowledge regarding patient’s rights. Simultane¬ously, more than half of them were of the opinion that the contemporary patient’s rights are not respected in their workplace. The above indicates a need for educational measures to be undertaken in this professional group in regards to the rights of patients.