PATIENT SATISFACTION TOWARDS SURGICAL INFORMED CONSENT PROCESS AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG PATIENTS WHO UNDERGONE MAJOR SURGERY IN GURAGE ZONE HOSPITALS, SNNPR, ETHIOPIA, 2022

Abstract

Introduction: Surgical informed consent is an important aspect of any surgical operation, and it should be founded on clear communication between patients and health-care providers, which is based on human rights, autonomy, and the right to information. Patient satisfaction with the informed consent procedure is a key indication of patient satisfaction with health-care services and a reflection of high-quality care. For all surgical operations, a properly informed consent process is at the core of collaborative decision-making, legal requirements, and ethical commitments. Despite this, it is rarely applied consistently and rarely approaches the theoretical ideal. Objective: This study aims to assess the level of patient satisfaction towards surgical informed consent process and associated factors among patients admitted to surgical ward for major surgery in Gurage zone hospitals,2022 Materials and Methods: Hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 1to May 30, 2022 at WKU Specialized Hospital and Attat hospital. A total of 409 surgical patients were selected using a systematic random sampling method. Data was entered, cleaned and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science windows version 22. Binary logistic regression model was used for factors analysis and the degree of association between independent and dependent variables was assessed using an adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval. Finally, the variables that have a p-value of <0.05 in multivariate analysis was considered as statistically significant. Result: A total of 409 study participants were interviewed and giving a response rate of 98.79 %. In this study, being female (AOR:2.779, 95% CI:2.12-6.72), having language barrier (AOR: 3.866, 95% CI:2.48-9.53), sufficiency of time allocated (AOR:4.01, 95% CI:2.44-7.93) and were factors significantly associated with patients’ dissatisfaction level towards surgical informed consent. Conclusion and recommendation: This study revealed that the level of patient dissatisfaction with the SIC process was high. So, hospitals found in Gurage zone should prepare training session for health professionals to strength patient to health provider relationship and to improve way of delivering informed consent service and to increase patient satisfaction.