The knowledge level of the patients staying in hospitals about the patient rights

ABSTRACTThe knowledge level of the patients staying in hospitals about the patient rightsThe aim of this study is to determine the level of the patient rights-consciousness of the patients staying in the surgical wards of 1 Eylül State Hospital.In this cross-sectional type research, a survey form consisting of 30 questions was applied on 413 patients. The data obtained were evaluated according to SPSS, percentage cross table in statistical analyses, and chi square tests.66.3 % of the people having participated in our research are women while 33.7 % of them are men. 44.6 % of them are between the ages 21 and 40, and 43.3 % of those are over 41. With respect to the education status, 19. 9 % of the patients are illiterate and 49.6 % of them had primary education, 21.3 % of them had high school education, 9.2 % of them are university graduates. 30.3 % of those participating in our research are aware of the patient rights; however, 69.7 % of them are unaware of the patient rights. It has been found that 36.6 % of the patients are informed about the rules of the hospital and the service to obey, yet 63.4 % of them do not have any information about them.52.1 % of the patients know the medical personnel that give medical treatment to them, and no statistically meaningful relationship has been found between knowing the medical personnel giving the medical treatment by their names and the socio-demographic characteristics of the patients (P> 0.05). 21.8 % of the patients know the patient rights unit. Despite this, 95.6 % of the patients have not consulted the patient rights unit for any reason. 50.5 % of the patients apply the Head Physician?s Office as the complaint authority.69.7 % of the patients participating in the research have stated that they are satisfied with the hospital. A statistically meaningful relationship between the level of satisfaction and the socio-demographic characteristics such as age, education status, and the socio-economic status has been found. ( P<0.05)With this study, it has appeared that the patients have not sufficiently knowledge about the patient rights. However, the fact that the satisfaction level of the patients is high with regard to the hospital leads to the belief that the education level of the patients is low.In accordance with these results, it is clear that the patients need to be informed about the patient rights and they should be encouraged to claim their rights. Moreover, it is believed that the quality of the offered medical service will increase through developing the sensitivity of the physicians and nurses about the patient rights and through the in-service trainings.Keywords: right, patient rights, nurse, informed consent