Patients' Rights: A Hospital Survey in South Egypt

Abstract

We examined the awareness of and practices regarding patients' rights in one of the general hospitals in South Egypt. This cross-sectional study incorporated a convenience sample of the hospitalized patients and their companions (N = 292), as well as the actively working medical care providers (MCPs) at the time of data collection, 72 physicians and 48 nurses. Pretested structured questionnaires inquired about the way in which patients' rights are perceived by and exercised through the lived experiences of the sample group. An in-depth interview about patient rights' practices was conducted with the study hospital's highest-level manager. Three quarters of the patients and companions did not know about the list of patients' rights, compared to about half of the physicians and nurses--77%, 44%, and 48% respectively. Among those patients and companions who were knowledgeable about the list of patients' rights, mass media was their main source of knowledge, about eight times greater than their next source, placards on the hospital wall. The proportion of the physicians who stated undergraduate curriculum as a source of their knowledge was almost half that of the nurses. Strategies to promote awareness among MCPs, and to ensure effective supervision from both the Ministry of Health and local managers, should precede mass community patients' rights awareness efforts.

Patients' attitudes and preceptions regrding research and their rights: a pilot survey study from the Middle East

“…These results are similar to our data showing that approximately 25% of respondents would not file a complaint as they thought that nothing would be done in response. However, in the study in Egypt, a higher proportion of the patients or their companions (approximately 60%) would “do nothing” when facing problems or harm in the hospital (31). This higher result might be due to their sample population, almost half of whom were illiterate, as opposed to only 9% in our sample, indicating that illiteracy might be a surrogate marker for vulnerability.…”

“…These studies demonstrate a wide range of variability. For example, studies demonstrating that patients have a low awareness of their rights included those from Turkey (23%) (25), Greece (15.7%) (26), Egypt (23.3%) (31), and Saudi Arabia (25%) (29). In contrast, higher rates of awareness were demonstrated among patients in Lithuania (56%) (27), Poland (80%) (30), Malaysia (90%) (28), and Nigeria (94.2%) (33).…”

Doctors' knowledge of patients' rights at King Fahd Hospital of the University

“…In those studies, half of the study physicians and nurses lacked knowledge. [9] Habib and Al-Siber recommended that more should be done by healthcare providers to increase patients' awareness of their rights and their role in making decisions on their treatment. [10]…”

Respect for woman′s decision-making in spontaneous birth: A thematic synthesis study

“…[13] In our synthesis, we applied validated methods to search for articles in electronic databases. Synthesis of qualitative studies is also questionable due to interpretation and lack of transparency.…”

“…Such information should provide a range of alternative action modalities that enable women to make the best decisions regarding their health. [13]…”