# Awareness and perspectives on patients' rights: a survey of health profession students at a Ugandan University

## TL;DR

This study surveyed Ugandan health students about their awareness of patients' rights, finding gaps in understanding informed consent.

## Contribution

The study provides insights into students' awareness and gender/program-based differences in perspectives on patient rights in Uganda.

## Key findings

- 65% of students were aware of the Uganda Patients Charter, mainly through class or online.
- 63% agreed treatment can be given without informed consent, indicating a lack of understanding of this right.
- Gender and academic program differences were found in perspectives on patient rights like impartial access and voluntary clinical training.

## Abstract

This study aimed to examine the awareness and perspectives of health professions students on patients' rights.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 294 undergraduate health profession students from three academic programs at a university in Uganda. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. Inferential analysis was performed using the Kruskall Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests.

Most respondents were male (57%), with a mean age of 24 years (SD 4) and 57.1% were medical students. One hundred ninety-two students (65%) were aware of the Uganda Patients Charter and had mainly learned about it from class (46%) and online (20%). 63% agreed that a health provider may give medical treatment without the patient's informed consent. There were significant gender differences in the patients' right to impartial access to health care (p= 0.039) and voluntary participation in clinical training (p= 0.047). There were significant differences in perspectives on the patient's right to participate in care decisions and choose treatment plans across the three academic programs (p = 0.006).

Most students were conversant with the different patient rights prescribed in the Uganda Patients Charter. However, they seemed not to appreciate the patient's right to informed consent in medical care.