Comparison of Perception and Experience of Informed Consent among Physicians, Nurses and Patients

사전동의에 대한 의사, 간호사 및 환자의 인식과 경험

Purpose: Purposes of this study were to promote understanding on mutually informed consent by comparing and analyzing the perception and experience of informed consent among physicians, nurses, and patients. Method: Participants in the study were 145 physicians, 300 nurses, and 178 patients from eight hospitals in Busan. To examine their understanding and experience with informed consent, all participants responded to a questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS/PC 12.0 program. Results: On the necessity of informed consent, the affirmative percentages were 95.9% for physicians, 99.0% for nurses and 84.8% for patients. As to the most important reason for informed consent 47.6% of the physicians and 64.3% of the nurses answered 'because it is an occupational and ethical duty', while 46.6% of the patients answered 'because it is protection for physicians'. Regarding the legal decision maker for informed consent, 33.1% of the physicians, 27% of the nurses, and 42.1% of the patients answered that the legal decision-making right belonged to the 'patient'. The agreement rate on the necessity of providing a comprehensive explanation about informed consent was 89.0% for physicians, 98.3% for nurses, and 96.1% for patients. Conclusion: Most physicians, nurses, and even patients have inaccurate perceptions and inappropriate experience with informed consent.