MORAL SENSITIVITY OF PHYSICAL THERAPY CLINICIANS IN VARIED CLINICAL SETTINGS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Abstract

Introduction: Moral sensitivity (MS) is the personal attribute needed to handle ethical conflicts in a specific scenario that the medical practitioner face in vulnerable situations due to the patient’s presence of an illness. Physical Therapists (PTs) are licensed practitioners who assess, diagnose and provide treatment that restore patients to optimal function, which requires moral competence. Thus, this study aimed to determine the level of moral sensitivity of PTs clinicians in the Philippines in varied clinical settings. Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study where the MS of 40 licensed PTs with at least 3 years of experience practice in the Philippines were assessed. The Lutzen's Moral Sensitivity (MSQ) questionnaire (1997) was modified to a 21-item checklist to meet the internal consistency reliability measured by Cronbach’s alpha of 0.70 and above. The MSQ utilized a 7-point Likert scale along 6 elements of MS: interpersonal orientation, structural moral meaning, expressing benevolence, modifying autonomy, experiencing moral conflict and confidence in medical knowledge. Results: Data shows that Structural Moral Meaning obtained the highest mean of 1.83+0.70. Overall MS of PTs in the Philippines was high (2.75+0.75). The levels of MS do not vary in all demographic profiles, except gender in Confidence in Medical Knowledge (X2=7.417, p=0.025) and years of experience in Modifying Autonomy (X2=17.625, p=0.0072). Male PTs have significantly higher MS compared to their counterpart; and >10 years of experience have significantly higher MS among the PTs. Discussion: The years of experience towards modifying autonomy indicates the treatment choices and applications of PTs with more years of experience tend to be more flexible owing to their practice and knowledge of efficiency and effectivity. Moreover, the level of MS varies in gender towards confidence in medical knowledge as it demonstrate moral choices are governed by rules and regulations among the male PTs rather than subjective feelings on particular situation.