Medical students’ knowledge about patients' bill of rights in universities of medical sciences in Tehran

Understanding patients' rights can lead to their observance and an increase in patient satisfaction with the received healthcare services. The aim of this study was assessing the level of awareness of clinical medical students at medical universities in Tehran regarding patients' rights.

This was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study conducted at medical faculties in Tehran. A total of 442 medical students were randomly selected. The "Patients' Rights Charter" questionnaire, provided by the Ministry of Health of Iran, was used for data collection. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software, version 19, and independent t-test, Pearson, and ANOVA tests were employed. Significance level was P < 0.05.

14.9% of the medical students had a poor level of awareness, 70.4% had a moderate level, and 14.7% had a good level of awareness. The lowest level of awareness was observed in respecting patient privacy and maintaining patient confidentiality, while the highest level of awareness was in the right to choose and make decisions freely. There was a significant relationship between the students' gender and age and their level of awareness. However, no significant relationship was found between academic level, university of study, prior knowledge of patients' rights, and the level of awareness.

The majority of medical students in this study had a moderate level of awareness. It is recommended to enhance awareness through more precise teaching of medical ethics courses and by conducting educational workshops for students, as well as organizing seminars and courses for medical practitioners, to improve their level of awareness.