The Mediated Role of Credibility on Information Sources and Patient Awareness toward Patient Rights

Abstract

Although patient rights are an important issue, this remains an understudied research area. Patients are unaware of their rights, lacking control of health care treatments they might deserve. This can contribute to sustaining inequality as well as failure in achieving welfare policy goals. Drawing on channel complementarity theory, the current study explored patients’ awareness toward their rights, and the credibility of information sources related to patient rights. In a web-based survey, 994 Israeli participants, suffering from chronic illness and using health services, were recruited. To examine the study’s theoretical framework and relationships among the constructs and test the hypotheses, a path analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Modeling. The research model depicts direct and indirect relationships between constructs, and the relevant coefficients. The results show a direct and positive interaction between information credibility and patient rights awareness (β = 0.10, p = 0.019). Information credibility partially mediates the relationship between public service information sources and patient rights awareness (bootstrap with 95% CI: 0.01–0.07; p = 0.015). The mass media information sources construct is directly and positively related to information credibility (β = 0.36, p = 0.000). Age was found as a moderator, indicating that information credibility is a factor only at lower ages. Therefore, patient rights should be systematically and reliably accessible in order to raise the awareness and trust of chronic patients regarding information about patient rights. Using planned health communication campaigns mainly via public service sources that are perceived as trustworthy can help contribute to approach patients more effectively and provide them with accessible and detailed information about their rights.

Medical and social factors influencing the utilization of healthcare services among older adults in Israel during the COVID-19 lockdown

“…Assisted living homes are designed for older adults who are independent and need less nursing help; they also empower the information of health, treatments, and health services. Older adults tend to use less information than younger adults, showing that the awareness of older adults about their rights is less compared to nursing people who need a close medical environment, as in a nursing home ( 33 , 34 ).…”

Chronically ill Patients’ Perspectives on Support Services and Activities of Patient Organizations

“…Patients' expressed four main desires from POs that have previously been reported: patients' rights information, patients' rights utilization, nancial support for treatments, and family member training and familiarity with the healthcare system [6,14]. Patients' rights in Israel come into play especially with regards to nances [34] (e.g. allowances, medications, medical devices, income tax exemptions, discounts) and thus we can assume that the "patients' rights" group referred to the nancial aspect of PO services.…”

Health literacy and patient rights awareness in ethnic Hungarian mothers in Eastern Europe

“…Rights awareness empowers patients to make informed decisions about their health services. Contrary to this, unawareness contributes to increasing health inequalities and disempowers patients' control over their healthcare treatments (2).…”

“…Patient rights are defined as the care, treatments, support, and services that the patient needs from the medical, social and regulatory environment in the process of treatment (2). Patient rights promote patient autonomy, empowerment, participation in the treatment process, and, globally, the health system reforms (6).…”

“…Patient rights promote patient autonomy, empowerment, participation in the treatment process, and, globally, the health system reforms (6). Half of the eligible population in Western European countries claim not to have received care with respect to patients' rights (2,7).…”