Evaluating physicians' knowledge, attitude and practice of their ethical responsibilities towards the environmental problem and air pollution

Today, 25% of diseases in the world are directly or indirectly caused by environmental problems. The present study attempts to clarify physicians’ moral responsibility in this regard and the roles they can play to decrease environmental problems. It also evaluates their attitudes towards and performance of these roles. The clarification of this issue paves the way for interventions through effective education or policy-making, as well as directing useful research.

A questionnaire was developed based on the results of qualitive study. The questionnaire assessed physicians’ awareness, attitude, and performance with regard to their environmental moral responsibilities.

Physicians with longer work experience had better performance. Those who worked in offices or at universities had also better performances compared to those working in hospitals. Physicians with more awareness had better performance, especially those who had acquired this awareness through books and educational workshops. The source of information was an effective factor on the gap between physicians’ attitude and performance scores those who had acquired information from books had the narrowest gap and those who had received information from social networks had the widest gap between attitude and performance scores.

The health system and the environment and its problems are intertwined and greatly influence each other. Thus this interrelation and the necessity of being concerned and having moral sensitivity were explained.