Are Sri Lankan Allopathic Medical Practitioners Ethical Enough? A KAP Survey in Selected Allopathic Healthcare Institutions in Sri Lanka

Background: Healthcare practitioners should provide comprehensive care to patients, their families, and communities through proper ethical conduct. However, in the recent past, there has been growing public concern regarding the ethical conduct of healthcare professionals, which is often reflected in complaints about poor ethical conduct. Medical ethics are concerned with moral values and judgments, as they apply to medicine. The following four principles form the basis of ethical medical practice: autonomy, justice, beneficence and non-maleficence.
Objective: This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of medical ethics among medical officers in Sri Lankan healthcare institutions.
Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, and data collection was performed for three months in four conveniently selected healthcare institutions. The sample size was 210 and proportionate sampling was performed to calculate the sample size for each institution. A pre-tested, validated, and self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection.
Results: Of the total number of participants (N=210), only 176 returned completed questionnaires (response rate=83.8%). Only 169 questionnaires were considered for the analysis because of the incompleteness of the seven returned questionnaires. Most of the doctors (n= 130,76.9%) have a “Good” knowledge level of medical ethics. Regarding the participants’ attitudes, the majority strongly agreed with the statement “Doctor should always do his best for the patient (n= 162 (95.9%). Regarding participants’ practices, all participants (N=169) claimed that they always “showed respect, dignity, responsiveness, and attention to patients’ health needs.
Conclusions and Recommendations: This study shows that Sri Lankan doctors have a sound knowledge of basic medical ethical principles. They ensured the privacy and informed consent of patients and respected their dignity in their practice. We recommend that education and training in all aspects of medical ethics be initiated as continuous medical education for all doctors.