Ethics Committees in Croatia in the Healthcare Institutions: The First Study about their Structure and Functions, and some Reflections on the Major Issues and Problems

Borovečki, Ana; Have, Henk ten; Orešković, Stjepan

doi:10.1007/s10730-006-7987-4

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…No statistically significant differences were found between nurses and other HCPs, or between physicians working in either secondary or tertiary level institutions. The proportion of ethical dilemmas among Slovenian HCPs is comparable with the findings of other studies that showed that between 60% and 90% of HCPs encountered various ethical dilemmas in their work [13,32,[41][42][43]. Our findings concur with those of several international studies,…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

The first nationwide study on facing and solving ethical dilemmas among healthcare professionals in Slovenia

et al. 2020

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Background Healthcare professionals (HCPs), patients and families are often faced with ethical dilemmas. The role of healthcare ethics committees (HECs) is to offer support in these situations. Aim The primary objective was to study how often HCPs encounter ethical dilemmas. The secondary objective was to identify the main types of ethical dilemmas encountered and how HCPs solve them. Subjects and methods We conducted a cross-sectional, survey-based study among HCPs in 14 Slovenian hospitals. A questionnaire was designed and validated by HCPs who were selected by proportional stratified sampling. Data collection took place between April 2015 and April 2016. Results The final sample size was n = 485 (385 or 79.4%, female). The response rates for HCPs working in secondary and tertiary level institutions were 45% and 51%, respectively. Three hundred and forty (70.4%) of 485 HCPs (very) frequently encountered ethical dilemmas. Frequent ethical dilemmas were waiting periods for diagnostics or treatment, suboptimal working conditions due to poor interpersonal relations on the ward, preserving patients' dignity, and relations between HCPs and patients. Physicians and nurses working in secondary level institutions, compared to their colleagues working in tertiary level institutions, more

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

The first nationwide study on facing and solving ethical dilemmas among healthcare professionals in Slovenia

et al. 2020

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“…Another study on “Ethics committees in Croatia in the healthcare institutions: The first study about their structure and functions, and some reflections on the major issues and problems” by Borovecki et al ,[12] also highlights that there are concerns about members' knowledge levels. More efforts need to be made to use education to improve the quality of work.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An evaluation of knowledge, attitude, and practice of institutional ethics committee members from eastern India regarding ethics committee functioning and pharmacovigilance activities conducted during clinical trials: A pilot study

et al. 2014

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Purpose of study:The vital responsibility of Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) members is to ensure the safety of the subjects participating in clinical trials. Hence, it is essential for IEC members to be aware of the common pharmacovigilance strategies followed during clinical trials. However, the information about the knowledge, attitude, and practice of IEC members regarding the pharmacovigilance activities followed during clinical trials is scarce worldwide, especially in India. Hence, this cross-sectional study was designed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of IEC members of 10 hospitals of Kolkata, India.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study using a self-administered, validated questionnaire was conducted among 10 hospitals (five government and five corporate hospitals) in Kolkata conducting active clinical research and having functional Ethics Committees (ECs) in the month of September-November, 2012. An IEC approval was taken for this study. Two reminders were given to all EC members through telephone/e-mail for completion and returning of the forms. The filled in forms were returned to their respective Member Secretaries, from whom authors' collected the forms. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0 software and MS-Excel 2007. Categorical data were analyzed using Chi-square test and a P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results:Out of the 100 distributed questionnaires, 40 were returned of which 10 were not filled properly. Overall awareness regarding different pharmacovigilance terminologies and activities among EC members from nonmedical background (71.43%) was found to be more than that of the medical members (68.75%), though the figure was not statistically significant. Majority of the members (75%) felt that EC should decide compensation in case of a serious adverse event.Conclusion:The present study signifies that there is a low level of awareness in IEC members of Kolkata regarding pharmacovigilance activities conducted during clinical trials; and, hence the functioning of the ECs to safeguard the safety of patients during clinical trials remains questionable. There is a definite need for immediate intervention in the form of mandatory training hours for EC members about pharmacovigilance activities and reporting timelines to ensure clinical trial subject safety in the long run.

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“…Since 2002 concrete efforts of the Croatian National Bioethics Committee began in order to separate research-ethical activities from clinical-ethical ones, and officially establish two types of committees in Croatian health care institutions. 8,51,52 Only in 2006, through the amendments of the Croatian Health Care Law, two functions were distinguished, and the existing 'mixed type ethics committees' were divided into hospital ethics committees and drug committees, the latter taking over the functions of RECs. 53 Unfortunately, the still persistent 'mixed approach', as shown through the activities of the Ethics Committee of the CHC Rijeka, transforms potentially useful bodies into predominantly administrative ones, buried into common decennial practice, often overlooking the need and obligation to update according to present professional guidelines.…”

Section: Perceived Usefulness Of Helpmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Nurses and physicians face ethical dilemmas — the Croatian experience

et al. 2011

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The aim of this study was to assess nurses' and physicians' ethical dilemmas in clinical practice. Nurses and physicians of the Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka were surveyed (N=364). A questionnaire was used to identify recent ethical dilemma, primary ethical issue in the situation, satisfaction with the resolution, perceived usefulness of help, and usage of clinical ethics consultations in practice. Recent ethical dilemmas include professional conduct for nurses (8%), and near-the-end-of-life decisions for physicians (27%). The main ethical issue is limiting life-sustaining therapy (nurses 15%, physicians 24%) and euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (nurses 16%, physicians 9%). The types of help available are similar for nurses and physicians: obtaining complete information about the patient (37% vs. 50%) and clarifying ethical issues (31% vs. 39%). Nurses and physicians experience similar ethical dilemmas in clinical practice. The usage of clinical ethics consultations is low. It is recommended that the individual and team consultations should be introduced in Croatian clinical ethics consultations services.

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Ethics Committees in Croatia in the Healthcare Institutions: The First Study about their Structure and Functions, and some Reflections on the Major Issues and Problems

Cited by 12 publications

References 11 publications

The first nationwide study on facing and solving ethical dilemmas among healthcare professionals in Slovenia

The first nationwide study on facing and solving ethical dilemmas among healthcare professionals in Slovenia

An evaluation of knowledge, attitude, and practice of institutional ethics committee members from eastern India regarding ethics committee functioning and pharmacovigilance activities conducted during clinical trials: A pilot study

How Nurses and physicians face ethical dilemmas — the Croatian experience

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