Souri N, Nodehi Moghadam A, Mohammadi Shahbolaghi F. Iranian Physiotherapists’ Perceptions of the Ethical Issues in Everyday Practice. Iranian Rehabilitation Journal 2020; 18 (2) :125-136
URL:
http://irj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-1009-en.html
1- Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
2- Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Department of Nursing, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract: (3493 Views)
Objectives: Considering the significant role of physiotherapists in the process of rehabilitation, their ethical commitment is essential to successful interaction and care provision. However, investigations on the medical professional ethics in Iran are limited. Generally, research in this regard is rare in Asia. Thus, such studies could improve the moral knowledge of the Iranian physiotherapy community. Accordingly, this study aimed to explore professional ethics issues in physiotherapy to provide a platform concerning the challenges of professional ethics in physiotherapy in Iran.
Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in 2016-2017 using the content analysis method. The study samples were recruited through purposive sampling approach until data saturation (12 physiotherapists). The required data were gathered by an in-depth semi-structured interview. All of the interviews were transcribed and analyzed, inductively.
Results: Physiotherapists in Ahvaz and Tehran cities, Iran experienced challenges in 6 different categories during daily practice. These aspects included the following: therapists’ self-interest-craving, observing patients’ rights, maintaining professional competence, the effect of workplace on ethical conduct, personal ethical outlook, and insufficient professional ethics education. This study implicated the existence of a trend of kick-backs in the physiotherapy community; a problematic trend in the medical community, i.e. addressed by physicians in several articles. Additionally, the lack of receiving ethical education leads to ethical judgments based on personal values rather than ethical codes. According to the current research findings, it To increase the visibility of the article as well as to increase the citation of your article, we suggest that Latin keywords be based on the MeSH list. See: https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/search was problematic for practitioners.
Discussion: Three subcategories of the incompetence of the healthcare system, the lack of supervision on ethical principles, and the impact of poor insurance system on patient admission are related to the endemic conditions of the health system of the country. These issues require serious interventions from executive powers.
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● Therapists’ self-interest-craving, personal ethical outlook, maintaining professional competence, observing patients’ rights, insufficient professional ethics education, and the effect of workplace on ethical conduct were the six categories of ethical challenges in physiotherapy.
● The three subcategories of the incompetence of the healthcare system, the lack of supervision on ethical principles, and the impact of poor insurance system on patient admission require special attention.
● In the absence of a formal ethical code and the lack of formal education, physiotherapists use their values and religious beliefs to manage ethical challenges.
Plain Language Summary
Professional ethics plays an important role in developing a professional identity that has been missed in Iran until recently. So, the first step to providing proper specialized codes of ethics is to identify current ethical challenges in physiotherapists’ everyday practice. The present study results revealed that these challenges fit into the following six categories: therapists’ self-interest-craving, observing patients’ rights, maintaining professional competence”, the effect of workplace on ethical conduct, personal ethical outlook, and insufficient professional ethics education.
Article type:
Original Research Articles |
Subject:
Physiotherapy Received: 2019/04/10 | Accepted: 2019/12/10 | Published: 2020/06/1
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