<p>Quality of Informed Consent Among Patients Who Underwent Major Surgical Procedure in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia</p>

Abstract

Background: Informed consent is the process by which a patient learns about and understands the purpose, benefits, and potential risks of a medical or surgical intervention and then agrees to receive the treatment. It is a legally required process before performing any medical or surgical procedure. In most setups where surgical services are being provided, most components of informed consent are not always complete. The aim of this study is to assess the quality of informed consent among surgical patients admitted to the surgical ward of SPHMMC (St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College) from March 4 to April 12, 2019, G.C. Methods and Materials: This is an institution-based prospective cross-sectional study done on patients admitted to the surgical ward of SPHMMC from March 4 to April 12, 2019, G.C. A total of 135 patients were selected by simple random sampling and were interviewed after their surgeries and before discharge. Results: The informed consent form does not have any of the essential components of surgical informed consent. Out of 135 respondents, only 8.1% of the patients received the minimum required components of informed consent (a good quality informed consent). 85.9% were told their diagnosis, 55.6% knew the benefits of the surgery, and 60.7% knew the consequences of not doing the surgery. Only 26.7% of respondents received explanations about the risk of the procedure. 44.4% of patients were told alternative options of treatment. Conclusion:The quality of informed consent is poor in the surgical ward of SPHMMC. The hospital administration (surgical department) should develop a protocol on the amount of information disclosed to patients before surgery and train all medical personnel.

Practice and Factors Associated with Informed Consenting Process for Major Surgical Procedures Among Health-Care Workers, South Eastern Ethiopia

“…This finding was in line with the study conducted in Addis Ababa, which revealed half (55.6%) of the patients knew the benefits of the surgery. 15 In this study, the health-care workers who had good knowledge of informed consent were more likely to practice adequate informed consent than those who had poor knowledge. This finding was supported by the study conducted in Pakistan.…”

“…This finding was in line with the study conducted in Addis Ababa, which revealed half (55.6%) of the patients knew the benefits of the surgery. 15 …”

“…14 Surprisingly, in Ethiopia, only 8.1% of the patients received the minimum required information from an informed consent. 15 Failing to obtain proper informed consent is an important cause of medical malpractice litigation, including informed consent allegations, battery, patient injury, improper treatment and surgical site operation, poor outcome and prognosis of the procedure, and indemnity payments. The most common informed consent allegations were failure to explain risks and adverse effects of surgery (30.4%).…”

“… 14 Surprisingly, in Ethiopia, only 8.1% of the patients received the minimum required information from an informed consent. 15 …”

Quality of Informed Consent in Mammography Screening—The Polish Experience

“…It would seem that these theoretical assumptions will also work in practice. Nevertheless, high-quality consent remains an ongoing challenge in various areas of medicine, including clinical trials [ 5 ], surgical procedures [ 6 ], vaccination [ 7 ] and blood transfusion [ 8 ]. In each of these areas of medicine, the process of obtaining consent has been determined and it is a gateway to further, frequently necessary, treatment.…”