Study of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Adolescent’s Rights to Autonomy and Confidentiality among Physicians Working in Ain Shams University Hospitals

Abstract

dolescents are between the dependency of childhood and the autonomy of adulthood. They legally cannot provide consent to their medical care and are not subject to the confidentiality protections. However, their cognitive ability and capacity to reason are similar to those of an adult. Health care providers should support adolescents' growing autonomy and transition to adulthood by including their viewpoint and consent in a shared, family-based decision-making model. This survey was conducted on physicians working at Ain Shams University Hospitals during the period from December 2019 to December 2020 to assess their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding sharing the adolescents in medical decision making and their right to confidentiality. An online self -administered structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The study included 384 physicians with different specialties; the majority of participants physicians in the current study were female (202 physicians, 52.6%) residents (229 physicians, 59.6%), younger than 30 years (228 physicians, 59.4%) and having duration of work experience less than 5 years (231 physicians, 60.2%). Regarding their specialties; surgeons with different subspecialties constituted the greater percentage (126 physicians, 32.8%), followed by internal medicine (119 physicians, 31 %).