Clerics' Perception of Patient Rights: A Qualitative Content Analysis

Patients have certain rights that are expected to be observed and respected by healthcare providers. These rights include universal as well as local rights determined by the social and cultural context of any society. Patient’s rights consist of statements issued to declare the duties of the health providers pertaining to patients. There are charters of patient rights in different countries including Iran. However, it seems necessary to investigate more exactly the patient rights in accordance with the Islamic perspective as the fundamental value system of the country. This study was conducted to explore and explain the patient’s rights from the clerics’ point of view.

This was a conventional qualitative content analysis study. The participants were 20 clerics living in Qom selected through purposeful sampling, who met the inclusion criteria and could provide their understanding of the patient’s rights in the context of Islam. Deep semi-structured interviews were conducted. The interviews were coded and categorized through qualitative content analysis.

This study led to the identification of four themes as the main features of patient’s rights from the clerics’ point of view including respect for patient autonomy, considering non-physical needs of patients, high-quality healthcare, and moral conduct.

According to the findings of this study, patient rights from the viewpoint of the clerics includes besides attending other needs of patients, their spiritual needs that should be addressed by healthcare providers.