Hossein Ebrahimi, Effat Sadeghian, Naeimeh Seyedfatemi, Eesa Mohammadi,
Volume 7, Issue 4 (11-2014)
Abstract
Patient autonomy is the opposite of paternalism and an essential element in individualised, patient-centred, ethical care. Challenges associated with patient autonomy are culture-related and have not been fully investigated in Iran so far. The aim of this study was to explore the challenges to the autonomy of patients in Iranian hospitals.This was a qualitative study using conventional content analysis methods. In 2013 13 patients, 7 nurses and 1 doctor were selected from three Tabriz and Hamadan teaching hospitals using purposive sampling to participate in semi-structured interviews. The interviews were subjected to qualitative content analysis and analysed using the MAXQD10 software.Fifteen categories and three themes were identified. The three main themes related to challenges associated with patient autonomy were: interpersonal factors, altered relationships, and organisational constraints. In summary, this study revealed some challenges associated with patient autonomy that the treatment team, managers and planners in the health care system should target in order to improve patient autonomy.
