Viewpoints of Nurses and Patients on Paying Respect to the Privacy of Patients in Care

Background and The need for privacy is a basic human right. Nurses are expected to respect the patients’ privacy. This study investigated the viewpoints of patients and nurses regarding keeping the patients’ privacy during nursing care. In this cross sectional study 127 nurses and 384 patients meeting the criteria for study were selected through randomized sampling. Data was collected by a questionnaire designed by Heydari (2000) and analyzed using t-test and ANOVA in SPSS ver.18. The results showed a significant difference on average score of the realm of human between nurses and patients (P<0.05). According to the studied population the levels of paying respect to human realm and private space in hospital were moderate. Significant relationships were seen in viewpoints of nurses’ considering their gender and educational level. We also found a significant correlation between the patients’ viewpoints and their level of education and place of residence. To enhance the quality of services provided by nurses they should consider patients’ right to privacy and care for them while respecting their privacy.