Patients’ Perception of Informed Consent for Surgical Operations in Kuwait

Abstract

Background Informed consent is part of every surgeon’s daily practice. Surgical patients often need accurate information about their operation. The most important goal of informed consent is to inform patients about risks, benefits and expectations of the operation and help the patients make the final decision about their healthcare. Objective: To assess the patients’ perception of informed consent for surgical operations and to determine their expectations about the information given in Kuwait. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to June 2016 in all six governmental general hospitals and two private hospitals in the state of Kuwait. 805 adult patients hospitalized in surgical departments participated in the study by completion of self-administered questionnaires about their perception of informed consent. Results: The mean age of participants was 35.6 years, males constituted 48.3% of the sample, 49.2% were Kuwaiti residents, 79.2% were secondary or higher educated and 73.4% were married. 69.9% of patients believed that it was a legal requirement. While, 37.0% thought that signing the consent meant waving their rights to any compensation, 72.3% thought that the consent form protects the patient's rights. 72.9% believed that signing the consent form confirms that the operation and its effects have been explained to them. 76.4% signed the consent form so that they can undergo the required operative procedure. 82.0% believed that consent forms are necessary, while 59.5% believed that consent forms protect the doctor against being sued. Many of the patients (78.5%) thought that, a relative could sign on their behalf, if they can’t sign the consent form, 57.6% of the patients were happy to allow doctors to determine their treatment but they wanted to know about their condition, the treatment and the important side effects. 26.5% wanted to make final decision themselves after discussion of pros and cons of the treatment. Only 15.9% trusted their doctor to take the right decision and did not think that detailed explanation was necessary. Conclusion: The findings of this study show that informed consent was perceived differently by patients, which seems that consent procedures appear inadequate and hence consenting in its current form is not informed and should be re-evaluated to achieve patient autonomy.