Abstract
Although patient rights are an important issue, this remains an understudied research area. Patients are unaware of their rights, lacking control of health care treatments they might deserve. This can contribute to sustaining inequality as well as failure in achieving welfare policy goals. Drawing on channel complementarity theory, the current study explored patients’ awareness toward their rights, and the credibility of information sources related to patient rights. In a web-based survey, 994 Israeli participants, suffering from chronic illness and using health services, were recruited. To examine the study’s theoretical framework and relationships among the constructs and test the hypotheses, a path analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Modeling. The research model depicts direct and indirect relationships between constructs, and the relevant coefficients. The results show a direct and positive interaction between information credibility and patient rights awareness (β = 0.10, p = 0.019). Information credibility partially mediates the relationship between public service information sources and patient rights awareness (bootstrap with 95% CI: 0.01–0.07; p = 0.015). The mass media information sources construct is directly and positively related to information credibility (β = 0.36, p = 0.000). Age was found as a moderator, indicating that information credibility is a factor only at lower ages. Therefore, patient rights should be systematically and reliably accessible in order to raise the awareness and trust of chronic patients regarding information about patient rights. Using planned health communication campaigns mainly via public service sources that are perceived as trustworthy can help contribute to approach patients more effectively and provide them with accessible and detailed information about their rights.
Highlights
The media plays an important role in providing accessibility to patient rights [1], which are an inseparable part of human rights
Our findings illustrate the central role of credibility, as we found a direct and positive interaction between information credibility and patient rights awareness (H3)
This research discussed the understudied topic of patient rights awareness and revealed the relationships between patient rights awareness and information credibility
Summary
The media plays an important role in providing accessibility to patient rights [1], which are an inseparable part of human rights. Patient rights promote long-term patient autonomy [2], patient empowerment, the development of health system reforms, and increased awareness for patient participation and inclusion in treatment processes [3]. Failure to provide patient rights information accessibility can disempower patients’ control over their health care treatments as well as cause social gaps and act as a stumbling block for relevant government institutions. One of the main channels to inform patients about their rights is mass media (e.g., television, radio, newspaper, internet). Mass media sources convey patient rights information effectively [5], there are those who prefer to receive this information
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