Patients’ Perception of Informed Consent for Surgical Operations in Kuwait
Background Informed consent is part of every surgeon’s daily practice. Surgical patients often need accurate information about their operation. The most important goal of informed consent is to inform patients about risks, benefits and expectations of the operation and help the patients make the f...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Alexandria University
2018-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of High Institute of Public Health |
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| Summary: | Background Informed consent is part of every surgeon’s daily practice. Surgical patients often need
accurate information about their operation. The most important goal of informed consent is to inform
patients about risks, benefits and expectations of the operation and help the patients make the final
decision about their healthcare.
Objective: To assess the patients’ perception of informed consent for surgical operations and to
determine their expectations about the information given in Kuwait.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to June 2016 in all six governmental
general hospitals and two private hospitals in the state of Kuwait. 805 adult patients hospitalized in
surgical departments participated in the study by completion of self-administered questionnaires
about their perception of informed consent.
Results: The mean age of participants was 35.6 years, males constituted 48.3% of the sample, 49.2%
were Kuwaiti residents, 79.2% were secondary or higher educated and 73.4% were married. 69.9% of
patients believed that it was a legal requirement. While, 37.0% thought that signing the consent
meant waving their rights to any compensation, 72.3% thought that the consent form protects the
patient's rights. 72.9% believed that signing the consent form confirms that the operation and its
effects have been explained to them. 76.4% signed the consent form so that they can undergo the
required operative procedure. 82.0% believed that consent forms are necessary, while 59.5% believed
that consent forms protect the doctor against being sued. Many of the patients (78.5%) thought that, a
relative could sign on their behalf, if they can’t sign the consent form, 57.6% of the patients were
happy to allow doctors to determine their treatment but they wanted to know about their condition,
the treatment and the important side effects. 26.5% wanted to make final decision themselves after
discussion of pros and cons of the treatment. Only 15.9% trusted their doctor to take the right
decision and did not think that detailed explanation was necessary.
Conclusion: The findings of this study show that informed consent was perceived differently by
patients, which seems that consent procedures appear inadequate and hence consenting in its current
form is not informed and should be re-evaluated to achieve patient autonomy. |
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| ISSN: | 2357-0601 2357-061X |