Study of knowledge and practice of healthcare ethics in Ain Shams University Hospitals

Abstract

The knowledge of the studied respondents in ASU hospitals about healthcare ethics is inadequate and deficient in some areas e.g. the knowledge about different ethical guidelines, and the obligation towards patients' confidentiality. The incomplete knowledge about ethical principles is worrisome as it implies that many of the doctors will find it difficult to identify obvious cases with ethical dilemmas and this will affect the way these cases are managed. The attitude and opinion of the respondents about healthcare ethics were positive towards the attitudinal questions in most of cases for example, disclosure of medical error and confidentiality. However, there were unsatisfactory attitude regarding the patient’s autonomy. Moreover, their practice regarding the application of healthcare ethics situations were satisfactory in certain situations e.g. revealing the information equally to both male and female patients on regular basis.