Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Health Care Ethics among Speech Language Pathologists

Abstract

Background: Speech Language Pathology is guided by ethical principle as it is the tool for professional discipline. It is generally agreed that morality is all about right and wrong conduct based on socially approved norms. Healthcare ethics deals with moral code of conduct to patients in healthcare setting, taking in consideration of individuality, safety, welfare and self respect of them. Increase in unethical behavior from healthcare professional is an problematic issue of immediate concern. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitudes and practice of health care ethics among speech language pathologists. Methodology: The Cross Sectional study was done among Speech Language Pathologists at Riphah College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Lahore, within the duration of six months from 1st Jan 2017 to 30th June 2017 by using Convenient Sampling Technique. 104 Speech and language Pathologist (SLP) were included in the study. To conduct the research, standardized questionnaire was used which was previously used for assessing the (KAP) knowledge, attitudes and practice healthcare ethics among physiotherapists and medical students. The data was analyzed by Statistical package for Social sciences ( SPSS ) software 20.Percentage of responses were calculated. Chi-square test was applied to check the level of significance among different categories of available variables. Results: A total of 104 respondent speech language pathologists, were included in the study. The  distribution of gender comprised of 37.5% (n=39) males and 62.5% (n=65) females with 72.1% age range from the 23-28 years age group.62% (n=65) speech language pathologists were unaware about the main contents of ethical knowledge.42%(n=44) speech language pathologists responded that knowledge of ethics is very important to their work and majority 35.58%(n=37)  got knowledge through lectures and seminars.83.6% respondents were aware about the existence of no ethical committee at their institutions. As far as gender distribution was concerned 12% male and 27% female responded that knowledge of ethics is very important in work setting. Knowledge and attitude of healthcare ethics have a general manifestation on practical application of healthcare ethics. Conclusion: Overall results of the study showed gaps in knowledge but significant relationship towards attitude and practice of healthcare ethics in speech language pathologists and institutions. Effort should be made to increase the knowledge about the ethics in medical profession. Keywords: ethical committee, Healthcare Ethics, Speech Language Pathologist