Awareness and perspectives on patients’ rights: a survey of health profession students at a Ugandan University
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Introduction: This study aimed to examine the awareness and perspectives of health professions students on patients' rights. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 294 undergraduate health profession students from three academic programs at a university in Uganda. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. Inferential analysis was performed using the Kruskall Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. Results: Most respondents were male (57%), with a mean age of 24 years (SD 4) and 57.1% were medical students. One hundred ninety-two students (65%) were aware of the Uganda Patients Charter and had mainly learned about it from class (46%) and online (20%). 63% agreed that a health provider may give medical treatment without the patient's informed consent. There were significant gender differences in the patients' right to impartial access to health care (p= 0.039) and voluntary participation in clinical training (p= 0.047). There were significant differences in perspectives on the patient's right to participate in care decisions and choose treatment plans across the three academic programs (p = 0.006). Conclusion: Most students were conversant with the different patient rights prescribed in the Uganda Patients Charter. However, they seemed not to appreciate the patient's right to informed consent in medical care.
Source: African Health Sciences
DOI: 10.4314/ahs.v25i4.22
Institution: Makerere University
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4417150900
FWCI:
Cites:
Cited by:
Related to: