Medical Ethics
Year:2016 | Volume:10 | Issue:35|Papers Count:9

Background and Aim: Examination of the observance of midwifery code of ethics among midwifery students as future employees of the health system is a necessary issue. This study was carried out with the purpose of investigating midwifery students’ compliance with their professional ethical codes and some of the related factors.Methods: In this descriptive-cross sectional study, 125 midwifery students who were training in Teaching Hospitals of Hamedan University of Medical Sciences in 2015, selected by Census sampling.The data was collected by using of researcher made questionnaire which Consisted of 6 areas and 40 questions about midwifery Code of ethics. Data were analyzed by using SPSS 16 software.Ethical considerations: After obtaining permission from the university ethics committee on research, explaining the research goals, emphasizing on confidentiality and obtaining informed consent, questionnaires distributed for completion.Findings: The mean age of the midwifery students was 25.4±5.9.The observance rates in each domain were as follows: health care provider’s rights (89.4%), Professional commitments (86.7%), relationship with other students (85.2%), relationship with patients and their families (83.6%), education and research (81.7%), management (81.7%). There was statistical significant relationship between the semester (p=0.02), degree (p=0.04), job experience (p=0.01), marital status (p=0.02), ethnicity (p=0.01) with observance of midwifery code of ethics.Conclusion: The results stressed on the need to increase training courses for midwifery students with midwifery code of ethics, especially, in basic domains. Regarding to importance of respect for pregnant women and its role in health system revolution, Planning for training of professional ethics, especially in less-compliance domains, as well as providing the necessary conditions, including the status of midwifery profession in promoting reproductive health in order to comply with ethical norms and codes by graduates is necessary.

Background and Aim: Observance professional code of ethics and patient satisfaction has a great importance in medical practice.Therefore, this study was carried out to determine of the effect of perceived quality of services on patient satisfaction in in Physicians' Offices of Ilam Township.Methods: This cross-sectional study was done by using a convenience sampling method on 381 patients referred to physicians' offices of Ilam. Researcher-made questionnaire was used for data collection after gaining the face and content validity, and confirming reliability. Data were analyzed using SPSS SPSS20 and regression analysis.Ethical Considerations: After presenting the research objectives, emphasizing on confidentiality and obtaining patients' oral consent to participate in research, questionnaires were distributed.Findings: perceived quality of services in dimensions of reliability, trust, empathy, accountability and physical factors effects on patients ' satisfaction referred to doctors' offices of Ilam city, directly (p=0.001).Patients’ satisfaction increased with their age, but decreased by higher educational levels and complementary insurance coverage. Based on regression analysis, the trust or reliability, perceived the greatest impact than other dimensions, and physical factors were the least impact on patient satisfaction.Conclusion: Findings showed the trust and reliability has the greatest impact on patient satisfaction than other dimensions. With regarding to the patients’ rights and expectations, physicians can provide the necessary background to gain patients, satisfaction through improving the quality of services. Also, physicians must consider moral virtues and values such as care, honesty, compassion and empathy in the treatment of patients in their medical practice, in addition to professional duties based on rights and obligations.

Diagnostic methods that are practiced on the human or animal body have been explicitly excluded from patentability in most countries’ patent laws including European Patent Convention. However, rapid advances in science and technology, and consequently, the emergence of wide and diverse range of inventions in medical fields, have given rise to the difficulty and complexity of determining the scope of excluded diagnostic methods.Here, the approach of Technical Boards of Appeal to three issues has been controversial. First, what is the definition of “diagnostic method” as intended by the European lawmaker? Whether a claimed method is a “diagnostic method” only if it involves participation of a physician? What criteria can make a claimed method “practiced on the human or animal body” as it is required by the European Patent Convention.The response to these questions has been challenging and caused inconsistency and in some cases contradiction in European case-law.This Article tries to study and analyze the approach of Technical and Enlarged Boards of Appeal in a few key cases toward the patentability of diagnostic methods in Europe.

Background and Aim: Health is a holistic concept, incorporates physical, social, cultural, emotional, spiritual, political, mental, mystical, intrinsic, communicative and cognitive dimensions. From aforesaid dimensions, spiritual health is the least understood and most challenged concept. The aim of the study was to explain the concept of spiritual health.Methods: In this multi methods research, narrative review method was utilized with three-step-searching in scientific information database (SID) up to the November 2015 about religion, spirituality, spiritual health, religious beliefs and the effect of spiritual health on the body and soul health. Also, to demonstrate conceptual model of spiritual health, Rodgers's Evolutionary concept analysis method was used.Ethical Considerations: Moral rules such as honesty and integrity were taken into consideration in the analysis and report of searched literature.Results: From 3136 articles resulting from the primary search in the step one, 16 articles were scrutinized, totally, three themes including spiritual health concept and its dimensions, spiritual health relationship with others health dimensions and health concept model were extracted.Conclusion: Although, the results of the study provide preliminary definition of spiritual health concept and its dimensions; spiritual health and its sub-categorizations, are ambiguous concepts with unclear domains so that, there is a necessity for more analyzing and investigation to indiscriminate and discern it. Exact definition and identification of spiritual health with ascertained effects and extensive beliefs of people to it; can effectively be conducted as an appropriate strategy for more influences of treatments and even non-drug treatments.

Background and Aim: Educational justice is the process that is paid attention by all of the persons who are involved in education and are interested in its establishment. When teachers consider educational justice in interaction with students, they will improve sense of assistance, cooperation and bound to rules between them, through creating of their self-worth. The purpose of this study is determining of the relationship between educational justice and educationalcitizenship behavior from viewpoint of educating students in school of nursing and midwifery, Kerman university of Medical Sciences.Methods: This research is a descriptive-analytic study; the sample size was included of 290 students of Razi nursing and midwifery school. Educational justice and educational citizenship behavior questionnaires were used for data gathering. Data were analyzed using descriptive and analytic statistical tests (independent t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient) by SPSS 18 software.Ethical considerations: After presenting the research objectives, emphasizing on confidentiality, patients' oral consent to participate in research was obtained.Findings: Mean score of educational justice (86.86) was in medium level and Mean score of educational citizenship behavior (65.64±7.73) was desirable. There is a significantly positive relation between score of educational justice and educational citizenship behavior of students (P=0.01). Examining the answers to the statements of the educational justice questionnaire showed that most negative views allocated to the item "Teachers pay attention to all students equally" and most compatible views allocated to the item "online library facilities are available to all students". Examining the answers to the statements of educational citizenship behaviors questionnaire showed that most opposite views allocated to the item "I prefer the university environment, always with my friends and not with others" and most compatible views allocated to the item "I am always respectful to students and teachers in the University".Conclusion: The study findings showed a positive and significant relationship between educational justice and educational citizenship behaviors. So, it seems necessary to investigate the influencing factors on establishment of educational justice in order to planning for development of educational citizenship behavior in nursing student based on need assessment.

Background and Aim: Violence against women is one of the serious causes of disability and death of women with a high prevalence rate. Violence against women ethically is a sensitive research topic because it may engender physical, psychological, social and financial costs to those involved in research, to both researchers and participants. This study conducted with the aim of determining the ethical considerations in domestic violence research.Methods: In this review article, study of books and purposeful search of internal and external databases were used for attaining literature and related articles. Then the content of the searched documents were analyzed according to four principles of biomedical ethics.Ethical considerations: Moral rules such as honesty and integrity were taken into consideration in the analysis and report of searched literature.Findings: Main ethical concerns and considerations in these researches include the disclosure of information in the process of informed consent, ensuring safety and confidentiality, minimizing harm to participants and research team, ensuring scientific integrity, and providing support.Conclusion: Domestic violence research can be conducted well ethically if related ethical concerns in advance are identified and managed by using appropriate strategies.

Background and Aim: The ethical issue of the usage of Information Technology (IT) seems to be growing as rapidly as the technology development. The aim of this study is presenting a casual model for ethical behavioral intention of information technology among medical Students.Methods: This study is a Cross -Sectional study. The study sample consisted of the students studying at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The sample (234 persons) was selected through accidental stratified method, using Table krejcie and Morgan. The data was collected through a questionnaire that made based on standard questionnaires. Content validity was approved by experts and reliability was obtained by Cronbach's alpha. For data analysis, path analysis and LISREL statistical software were used.Ethical Considerations: By providing the research objectives and process, emphasizing on confidentiality, participants' oral consent to participate and colaborate in research was obtained.Findings: Three variables of computer ethical self-efficacy, perceived risk and subjective norm had a direct effect on ethical behavioral intention; computer ethical self-efficacy had the greatest direct effect (r=0.38) and also computer ethical self-efficacy and subjective norm on ethical behavioral intention through the attitude to ethical use and ethical behavior control had an indirect effect.Conclusion: to fulfiment advantages of the information technology without negative effects of experienced unethical behaveiors in academic environments, we must focus on improving the ethical selfefficacy and strengthing of the ethical motivation among students to use of information technology, and preventive social and technical actions.

Keeping the patients secrets has always been a kind of right and has been considered as an obligation for the doctor. Even though, confidentiality is not an absolute matter and under conflicting circumstances the doctor might have to violet confidentiality. This study was carried out with the purpose of assessment of the basis of doctor’civil responsibility if the secrets of the patient have been disclosed. A thorough study in the documents and laws reveals that other than exceptional cases, disclosure of medical secrets is not ethical and allowed and it will cause the doctor to take the responsibility of compensating for the damages and harms that the patient has sustained. Civil responsibility of a doctor for compensating the harms has not been mentioned clearly in Iranian law and legislations, but after it has been proofed in the court that there has been financial and mental harm and there has been causal link between the illegal act of the doctor and the hatms done to the patient, according to the article 1 of the civil liability law, the court will bound the doctor to compensate the damages. Eventually what guaranties the compensation of the harms done to the patient is the professional civil liability insurance of the doctor.