Health Ethics Education: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Health Care Ethics among Undergraduates and Recent Graduates of the Faculty of Dentistry, Sana’a University, Yemen - Abstract
Background: From the dental curricula, dental health care professionals are trained in ethics as an important part in many countries of the world but in Yemen it is not usually taught as a full subject. Therefore, traditional training methods do not prepare dentists well enough to face the ethical dilemmas that are routinely encountered. The awareness and sound ethical attitudes of the dentist are of paramount importance to improve dental care service and patient satisfaction and maintain the professional environment of any educational or service institution.
Objective: The current study aimed to analyze the ethical awareness, practices, and perceptions about the ethical climate of the Faculty of Dentistry,
Sana’a University, among undergraduates and new graduates dentistry.
Methods: This cross-sectional study based on a previously prepared questionnaire was conducted on a total of 364 students from the fourth and fifth year (the last year) and recent dental graduates who are applying in the clinics of the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Sana’a, Yemen. The questionnaire contained 17 subjective items consisting only of closed questions about awareness, moral practices and perceptions, and about moral climate. The completed questionnaires were then analyzed where descriptive analysis was performed for all the data collected.
Results: 364 questionnaires out of 397 were returned for analysis and this made the response rate in this study 91.7%. The study population was predominantly female (n = 207) (56.9%). Only 51%, 49% and 52% of undergraduates and graduate students were familiar with the term “dental ethics”. Only 15%, 13% and 20% of the fourth, fifth, and recent graduate students, respectively, were familiar with the Yemen Medical Council’s code of ethics and 15%, 11% and 12% were familiar with the international code of ethics. An alarming number of candidates 95%, 94% and 93% of fourth and fifth year and recent graduates respectively were not familiar with faculty ethics policies. only 21%, 22% and 24% of fourth and fifth year students and recent graduates, respectively, were not familiar with the penalties for improper behavior.
Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that there is a severe lack of knowledge of dental ethics among the dental students of Sana’a University, and that more incentives are needed to improve the situation. On the other hand, the attitudes of the study participants were found to be positive, indicating the general goodwill and loyalty of the students to their profession which is an important finding and can be used as a basis for concluding that any changes made will be faithfully followed by the students. Furthermore, there has been a good approach observed with regard to practices related to the ethics of dental care.