KUMJ | VOL. 14 | NO. 4 | ISSUE 56 | OCT.-DEC. 2016

Perception on Informed Consent Regarding Nursing Care Practices in a Tertiary Care Center
Paudel B, Shrestha GK

Abstract:
Background Consent for care procedures is mandatory after receipt of adequate information. It maintains patient�s rights and autonomy to make thoughtful decisions. Poor communication often leads to poor health quality. Objective To assess hospitalized patients� perception on informed consent regarding nursing care practices in a tertiary care center. Method This is a descriptive cross-sectional study among 113 admitted patients conducted in February 2012 at Dhulikhel Hospital, Nepal. Patients of various wards were selected using purposive non-probability sampling with at least 3 days of hospitalization. Close ended structured questionnaire was used to assess patients� perception on three different areas of informed consent (information giving, opportunity to make decision and taking prior consent). Result Among the participants 71.6% perceived positively regarding informed consent towards nursing care practices with a mean score of 3.32 � 1.28. Patients� perception on various areas of informed consent viz. information giving, opportunities to make specific decision and taking prior consent were all positive with mean values of 3.43�1.12, 2.88�1.23, 3.65�1.49 respectively. Comparison of mean perception of informed consent with various variables revealed insignificant correlation (p-value >0.05) for age, educational level and previous hospitalization while it was significant (p-value <0.05) for communication skills of nurses. Conclusion Majority of patients have positive perception on informed consent towards nursing care practices. Communication skills of nurses affect the perception of patients� regardless of age, education level and past experiences.
Keyword : Informed consent, nursing care, perception