Development and validation of an instrument to measure physician awareness of bioethics and medical law in Oman
Abstract Background A different ethos with respect to the perception of medical ethics prevails in societies in transition such as those in the Arabian Peninsula, which makes it difficult to apply international principles of bioethics in medical practice. This study aimed to develop and psychometric...
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doaj-3fda4493f8bc4242bef6ffec52ed36002021-05-23T11:23:06ZengBMCBMC Medical Ethics1472-69392021-05-0122111110.1186/s12910-021-00619-1Development and validation of an instrument to measure physician awareness of bioethics and medical law in OmanAhmed S. Al-Busaidi0Anuradha Ganesh1Samir Al-Adawi2Yahya M. Al-Farsi3Maryam K. Al-Rawahi4Nusaiba A. Al-Mawali5Nadiya S. Al-Kharousi6Mohammed Al-Alawi7Abdullah S. Al-Mujaini8Directorate General of Primary Health Care, Ministry of HealthDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos UniversityDepartment of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health SciencesDepartment of Family Medicine and Public Health, Sultan Qaboos UniversityMedical Student, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos UniversityMedical Student, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos UniversityDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos UniversityDepartment of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health SciencesDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos UniversityAbstract Background A different ethos with respect to the perception of medical ethics prevails in societies in transition such as those in the Arabian Peninsula, which makes it difficult to apply international principles of bioethics in medical practice. This study aimed to develop and psychometrically test an instrument that measures physicians’ awareness of bioethics and medical law and their attitudes towards the practice of medical ethics. Additionally, it examined physician correlates influencing the awareness of bioethics. Methods Following a rigorous review of relevant literature by a panel of experts, a 13-item instrument, the Omani physicians’ bioethics and medical law awareness (OBMLA) questionnaire was developed with the aim of assessing physicians’ awareness of bioethics and medical law. The study tool’s construct validity and internal consistency reliability were examined by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Cronbach’s alpha. In a cross-sectional study, the questionnaire was distributed among a random sample of 200 physicians at a tertiary hospital in Muscat, Oman. Participant characteristics that may influence awareness of bioethics and medical law were explored. Results The EFA of the OBMLA questionnaire resulted in three well-loading factors: (1) Physicians’ bioethics practice subscale (2) incentive related bioethics subscale and (3) medical law awareness subscale. Internal consistency reliability ranged between Cronbach’s α: 0.73–0.8. Of the total 200 participants, 52% reported that teaching medical ethics during medical school was inadequate. The overall mean (standard deviation, SD) of the bioethics awareness score and Omani medical law awareness were 27.6 (3.5) and 10.1 (2.1) respectively. The majority of physicians (73%) reported that they frequently encountered ethical dilemmas in their practice and 24.5% endorsed the view that unethical decisions tended to occur in their practice. Conclusion The study provides an insight into the practice of bioethics, and the awareness of bioethics and medical law among physicians in a teaching hospital in Oman. The OBMLA questionnaire appears to be a valid and reliable tool to assess a physician’s awareness of bioethics and medical law. In this preliminary study, it appears that participants have suboptimal scores on the indices which measure practice and awareness of bioethics and medical law.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-021-00619-1Medical ethicsCross-sectional studyMedical lawOmanQuestionnaireOBMLA |
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DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Ahmed S. Al-Busaidi Anuradha Ganesh Samir Al-Adawi Yahya M. Al-Farsi Maryam K. Al-Rawahi Nusaiba A. Al-Mawali Nadiya S. Al-Kharousi Mohammed Al-Alawi Abdullah S. Al-Mujaini |
spellingShingle |
Ahmed S. Al-Busaidi Anuradha Ganesh Samir Al-Adawi Yahya M. Al-Farsi Maryam K. Al-Rawahi Nusaiba A. Al-Mawali Nadiya S. Al-Kharousi Mohammed Al-Alawi Abdullah S. Al-Mujaini Development and validation of an instrument to measure physician awareness of bioethics and medical law in Oman BMC Medical Ethics Medical ethics Cross-sectional study Medical law Oman Questionnaire OBMLA |
author_facet |
Ahmed S. Al-Busaidi Anuradha Ganesh Samir Al-Adawi Yahya M. Al-Farsi Maryam K. Al-Rawahi Nusaiba A. Al-Mawali Nadiya S. Al-Kharousi Mohammed Al-Alawi Abdullah S. Al-Mujaini |
author_sort |
Ahmed S. Al-Busaidi |
title |
Development and validation of an instrument to measure physician awareness of bioethics and medical law in Oman |
title_short |
Development and validation of an instrument to measure physician awareness of bioethics and medical law in Oman |
title_full |
Development and validation of an instrument to measure physician awareness of bioethics and medical law in Oman |
title_fullStr |
Development and validation of an instrument to measure physician awareness of bioethics and medical law in Oman |
title_full_unstemmed |
Development and validation of an instrument to measure physician awareness of bioethics and medical law in Oman |
title_sort |
development and validation of an instrument to measure physician awareness of bioethics and medical law in oman |
publisher |
BMC |
series |
BMC Medical Ethics |
issn |
1472-6939 |
publishDate |
2021-05-01 |
description |
Abstract Background A different ethos with respect to the perception of medical ethics prevails in societies in transition such as those in the Arabian Peninsula, which makes it difficult to apply international principles of bioethics in medical practice. This study aimed to develop and psychometrically test an instrument that measures physicians’ awareness of bioethics and medical law and their attitudes towards the practice of medical ethics. Additionally, it examined physician correlates influencing the awareness of bioethics. Methods Following a rigorous review of relevant literature by a panel of experts, a 13-item instrument, the Omani physicians’ bioethics and medical law awareness (OBMLA) questionnaire was developed with the aim of assessing physicians’ awareness of bioethics and medical law. The study tool’s construct validity and internal consistency reliability were examined by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Cronbach’s alpha. In a cross-sectional study, the questionnaire was distributed among a random sample of 200 physicians at a tertiary hospital in Muscat, Oman. Participant characteristics that may influence awareness of bioethics and medical law were explored. Results The EFA of the OBMLA questionnaire resulted in three well-loading factors: (1) Physicians’ bioethics practice subscale (2) incentive related bioethics subscale and (3) medical law awareness subscale. Internal consistency reliability ranged between Cronbach’s α: 0.73–0.8. Of the total 200 participants, 52% reported that teaching medical ethics during medical school was inadequate. The overall mean (standard deviation, SD) of the bioethics awareness score and Omani medical law awareness were 27.6 (3.5) and 10.1 (2.1) respectively. The majority of physicians (73%) reported that they frequently encountered ethical dilemmas in their practice and 24.5% endorsed the view that unethical decisions tended to occur in their practice. Conclusion The study provides an insight into the practice of bioethics, and the awareness of bioethics and medical law among physicians in a teaching hospital in Oman. The OBMLA questionnaire appears to be a valid and reliable tool to assess a physician’s awareness of bioethics and medical law. In this preliminary study, it appears that participants have suboptimal scores on the indices which measure practice and awareness of bioethics and medical law. |
topic |
Medical ethics Cross-sectional study Medical law Oman Questionnaire OBMLA |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-021-00619-1 |
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