Abstract
Patient autonomy has great importance for a valid informed consent in clinical practice. Our objectives were to quantify the domains of patient autonomy and to evaluate the variables that can affect patient autonomy in women with chronic pelvic pain. This study is a cross sectional survey performed in a tertiary care University Hospital. Fifty-two consecutive women scheduled for laparoscopic management of chronic pelvic were included. Three major components of autonomy (competence, information or freedom) were evaluated using a Likert scale with 24 validated affirmatives. Competence scores (0.85 vs 0.92; p = 0.006) and information scores (0.90 vs 0.93; p = 0.02) were low for women with less than eight years of school attendance. Information scores were low in the presence of anxiety (0.91 vs 0.93; p = 0.05) or depression (0.90 vs 0.93; p = 0.01). Our data show that systematic evaluation of patient autonomy can provide clinical relevant information in gynecology. Low educational level, anxiety and depression might reduce the patient autonomy in women with chronic pelvic pain.
Highlights
MethodsThis study is a cross sectional survey performed in a tertiary care University Hospital
Informed consent is an integral part of medical decisionmaking for a patient accepting a specific treatment.[1]
In this proof of principle study, we systematically evaluated the autonomy in a consecutive series of women with chronic pelvic pain (CPP) scheduled for diagnostic laparoscopy
Summary
Study Design and Participants Fifty-two consecutive patients with chronic pelvic pain scheduled to diagnostic laparoscopy were included in this crosssectional survey study. The informed consents for laparoscopic procedures were obtained by the consultant gynecologist, and the application of the questionnaires for this study was conducted by one of the authors of this study. All patients had given consent to be submitted to laparoscopy by the time the questionnaires were applied This manuscript was written based on STROBE Statement. The questionnaire was applied in Portuguese and the contents had been previously validated by six experts who evaluated whether test items assess the proposed autonomy domains.[5] The affirmations were divided in three categories: information (11 affirmations), competence (6 affirmations) and freedom (7 affirmations). Statement I have been informed about the proposed surgery. I was able to understand the available alternatives to the proposed surgery. I found difficult to understand the provided information about the surgery. I made my decision based on the information provided by the health team.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
