Observance of midwifery Code of Ethics among midwifery students and its related factors

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

Background and Aim: Examination of the observance of midwifery code of ethics among midwifery students as future employees of the health system is a necessary issue. This study was carried out with the purpose of investigating midwifery students’ compliance with their professional ethical codes and some of the related factors. Methods: In this descriptive-cross sectional study, 125 midwifery students who were training in Teaching Hospitals of Hamedan University of Medical Sciences in 2015, selected by Census sampling. The data was collected by using of researcher made questionnaire which Consisted of 6 areas and 40 questions about midwifery Code of ethics. Data were analyzed by using SPSS 16 software. Ethical considerations: After obtaining permission from the university ethics committee on research, explaining the research goals, emphasizing on confidentiality and obtaining informed consent, questionnaires distributed for completion. Findings: The mean age of the midwifery students was 25.4±5.9. The observance rates in each domain were as follows: health care provider’s rights (89.4%), Professional commitments (86.7%), relationship with other students (85.2%), relationship with patients and their families (83.6%), education and research (81.7%), management (81.7%). There was statistical significant relationship between the semester (p=0/02), degree (p=0/04), job experience (p=0/01), marital status (p=0/02), ethnicity (p=0/01) with observance of midwifery code of ethics. Conclusion: The results stressed on the need to increase training courses for midwifery students with midwifery code of ethics, especially, in basic domains. Regarding to importance of respect for pregnant women and its role in health system revolution, Planning for training of professional ethics, especially in less-compliance domains, as well as providing the necessary conditions, including the status of midwifery profession in promoting reproductive health in order to comply with ethical norms and codes by graduates is necessary. Please cite this article as: Masumi Z, Golalizadeh Bibalan F, Roshanaei GH. Observance of midwifery Code of Ethics among midwifery students and its related factors. Med Ethics J 2016; 10(35): 11-30.