Medical Professionals’ Knowledge, Sensitivity, and Attitudes Towards Social and Ethical Aspects of Stem-Cell Donation, Therapy, and Research: Implications for Healthcare Risk Management

BACKGROUND: Knowledge, sensitivity, and acceptance attitudes towards social, moral and ethical aspects of stem-cell donation and treatment are important factors in preventing professional negligence and improving healthcare risk management and health justice in this specialized area of health services. OBJECTIVE: To assess knowledge, sensitivity, acceptance and rejection attitudes towards stem-cell transplantation and research and its associated factors among medical professionals in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A quantitative and cross-sectional study was conducted in December 2022. Data were collected from 260 medical workers from various regions in Saudi Arabia. T-tests, ANOVA, and multiple linear regression were applied to find variations and associations of gender, age, profession, nationality, religious orientation, and work experiences of professionals with knowledge, sensitivity, acceptance and rejection attitude towards stem-cell donation, therapy, and research. A confidence interval (CI) of 95% and a significance level of p≤ 0.05 was chosen for testing statistical models. RESULTS: A total of (n=260) medical professionals, among which clinicians (n=98;38%), pharmacists (n=78;30%), and nurses (n=84;32%) completed the survey questionnaire. Findings show that (n=27; 10%) participants have work experience in stem-cell donation, (n=67; 26%) in stem-cell therapy, and (n=124; 48%) in stem-cell research. Clinicians and pharmacists, in comparison to nurses, had better knowledge (p<0.01 and p<0.05); pharmacists had higher sensitivity (p<0.05) than nurses. Compared to those who do not have work experience in stem-cell research, those who had work experience had higher levels of knowledge, sensitivity, and acceptance attitudes at (p<0.001) and (p<0.01). Acceptance attitudes are considerably higher among male participants than females and similarly higher among older participants than younger participants (p<0.05). Compared to non-Saudi nationals, Saudi nationals scored higher on rejection attitudes (p<0.01). Compared to those having work experience in stem-cell donation and research, those without work experience are more likely to hold rejection attitudes (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Findings suggest female professionals, Saudi nationals and those who do not have prior work experience in stem-cell donation, therapy, or research had low levels of knowledge, less sensitivity, and less acceptance attitude and are more likely to hold rejection attitude, signifying the need to address them to improve healthcare risk management.