Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34022852›Full record

ArticleBMC medical ethics2021

Development and validation of an instrument to measure physician awareness of bioethics and medical law in Oman.

Ahmed S Al-Busaidi, Anuradha Ganesh, Samir Al-Adawi, Yahya M Al-Farsi, Maryam K Al-Rawahi, Nusaiba A Al-Mawali, Nadiya S Al-Kharousi, Mohammed Al-Alawi, Abdullah S Al-Mujaini

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical ethics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.1field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Article
  4. Observational
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Ahmed S Al-BusaidiDirectorate General of Primary Health Care, Ministry of Health, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Anuradha GaneshDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. gananu@gmail.com.
Samir Al-AdawiDepartment of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Yahya M Al-FarsiDepartment of Family Medicine and Public Health, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Maryam K Al-RawahiMedical Student, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Nusaiba A Al-MawaliMedical Student, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Nadiya S Al-KharousiDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Mohammed Al-AlawiDepartment of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Abdullah S Al-MujainiDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Sultan Qaboos University · OMMuscat College · OMMinistry of Health · OM

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundA different ethos with respect to the perception of medical ethics prevails in societies in transition such as those in the Arabian Peninsula, which makes it difficult to apply international principles of bioethics in medical practice. This study aimed to develop and psychometrically test an instrument that measures physicians' awareness of bioethics and medical law and their attitudes towards the practice of medical ethics. Additionally, it examined physician correlates influencing the awareness of bioethics.

methodsFollowing a rigorous review of relevant literature by a panel of experts, a 13-item instrument, the Omani physicians' bioethics and medical law awareness (OBMLA) questionnaire was developed with the aim of assessing physicians' awareness of bioethics and medical law. The study tool's construct validity and internal consistency reliability were examined by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Cronbach's alpha. In a cross-sectional study, the questionnaire was distributed among a random sample of 200 physicians at a tertiary hospital in Muscat, Oman. Participant characteristics that may influence awareness of bioethics and medical law were explored.

resultsThe EFA of the OBMLA questionnaire resulted in three well-loading factors: (1) Physicians' bioethics practice subscale (2) incentive related bioethics subscale and (3) medical law awareness subscale. Internal consistency reliability ranged between Cronbach's α: 0.73-0.8. Of the total 200 participants, 52% reported that teaching medical ethics during medical school was inadequate. The overall mean (standard deviation, SD) of the bioethics awareness score and Omani medical law awareness were 27.6 (3.5) and 10.1 (2.1) respectively. The majority of physicians (73%) reported that they frequently encountered ethical dilemmas in their practice and 24.5% endorsed the view that unethical decisions tended to occur in their practice.

conclusionThe study provides an insight into the practice of bioethics, and the awareness of bioethics and medical law among physicians in a teaching hospital in Oman. The OBMLA questionnaire appears to be a valid and reliable tool to assess a physician's awareness of bioethics and medical law. In this preliminary study, it appears that participants have suboptimal scores on the indices which measure practice and awareness of bioethics and medical law.

Indexed as

BioethicsPhysiciansCross-Sectional StudiesHumansOmanReproducibility of ResultsSurveys and QuestionnairesCross-sectional studyMedical ethicsMedical lawOBMLAOmanQuestionnaire

Identifiers

PMID34022852
PMCPMC8140473
OpenAlexW3113034614

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.