Medical chaperoning at a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia: survey of physicians
Background: Medical chaperones (MC) are underutilised. The influence of Islamic culture on the use of MC is not known.Aim: To examine physicians’ use and perception of MC in Islamic culture.Setting: A major tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia.Methods: 315 self-administered questionnaires were dis...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
BMJ Publ.
2009
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| In: |
Journal of medical ethics
Year: 2009, Volume: 35, Issue: 12, Pages: 729-732 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Background: Medical chaperones (MC) are underutilised. The influence of Islamic culture on the use of MC is not known.Aim: To examine physicians’ use and perception of MC in Islamic culture.Setting: A major tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia.Methods: 315 self-administered questionnaires were distributed to attendees of grand rounds of 13 departments.Results: 186 (59%) questionnaires were completed. 64.5% of the respondents were 30-49 years old, 75.8% were men and 31.2% were in training; 79% had a clinic load of under 50 patients per week and 47.8% had postgraduate training (PGT) in an Islamic country. MC were reported to be infrequently (⩽25% of the time) used by 44.1% (69.2% female vs 39% male physicians, p = 0.001; 58.6% in training vs 36.8% attending, p = 0.007; 52.1% PGT in Islamic vs 35.6% in western countries, p = 0.027), offered by 52.7% (78.9% female vs 46.8% male physicians, p<0.001) and requested by 79% of patients. MC were reported to be commonly (>75% of the time) used, offered by physicians and requested by patients by 38.2%, 29% and 7.5% of respondents, respectively. The most frequently cited reasons for not using MC were privacy/confidentiality (36.6%) and understaffing (30.5%). Equal numbers of respondents perceived MC use as a protection for physicians or patients (67.7% and 65.6%, respectively).Conclusions: MC are underutilised even in Islamic culture, especially among female physicians. Training in western countries is favourably associated with MC use. Underutilisation appears to be related to privacy/confidentiality, understaffing and failure of patients to request a MC. |
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| ISSN: | 1473-4257 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of medical ethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1136/jme.2009.030163 |