Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practical Implementation of Bioethical Principles among Dental Professionals

Abstract

Aim: To analyze the level of awareness, knowledge and attitude towards bioethics among dental professionals and practical implementation of bioethical principles in their dental practice.. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional, pre-validated questionnaire based research was conducted at four dental teaching institutions of Lahore, Pakistan. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was used. Results: Majority of the respondents 167(60.7%) were graduates having desirable knowledge and awareness of term “BIOETHICS”. It was appreciative that contributors had a positive perspective about the role of bioethics and have accepted its worth in their daily lives. A greater proportion 117(50.9%) of the participants gave opinion that full description of risks and benefits should be stated in informed consent. The fact that most of the respondents are dedicated to learn more about bioethics was endured out by present data as 224(81.5%) were of the opinion that bioethics should be a part of curriculum at undergraduate level. The survey specified that organ donation and abortion are considered as most critical bioethical issues. Conclusion: Dental fraternity has a fair knowledge of term ‘Bioethics’ and trend is seen towards practical implementation of principles of bioethics. Many domains of bioethics are still under debate because responses were influenced by cultural and religious norms. There is a dire need of development of innovative educational initiatives of ethics related to clinical/ technical issues, practice management, and social/ civic controversies. Keywords: Bioethics, Practical Implementation, Bioethical principles, Human rights, Confidentiality