Anesthesia & Clinical Research
Open Access

Abstract

The Practice of Obtaining Informed Consent for Elective Surgery and Anesthesia from Patients' Perspective: An Institutional based Cross-Sectional Study

Tadese Tamire, Aragaw Tesfaw

Background: Informed consent is a body of shared decision making process and voluntary authorization of patients to receive medical or surgical intervention. There are limited studies conducted so far to examine the practice of informed consent in Ethiopia. The aim of the study was to assess the practice of informed consent for surgery and Anesthesia from patients’ perspective.

Method: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to May 2019. The data were collected using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire and entered and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 23.

Results: A total of 139 patients were interviewed in this study. Most 42 (30.2%) of patients were in the age group of 29-38 years. The majority 74 (53.2%) of the population were females and most 85 (61.2%) were from a rural residence. Nearly half 68 (48.9%) of the patients were informed of the benefits of the surgical procedure and 78 (56.1%) of the patients were informed on the type of anesthesia to be administered while 65 (46.8%) were not informed on any complications related to the anesthesia. About 66 (47.5%) of the patients interviewed were informed on alternatives to the surgery done. Of these patients, 39 (59%) were not informed of any benefits and possible risks associated with the alternative modes of treatment. More than half 75 (54%) of the patients reported as they were understood the information provided during the pre-operative counseling and about 114 (82%) of the patients interviewed satisfied with the current process of obtaining informed consent.

Conclusion: The current practice of obtaining informed consent addressed only certain aspects of the informed consent component which reflects that patients were inadequately informed on complications related to surgery and anesthesia, alternative forms of treatment and their risks and benefits.

Published Date: 2021-02-25; Received Date: 2021-02-04