Patients’ Awareness of Their Rights and Responsibilities: A Cross-Sectional Study From Al-Ahsa

Introduction Patient rights are an essential part of healthcare practice. In fact, patients are one of the most vulnerable members of society. As a result, improving the rights of patients is considered a priority in medical services. Aim The purpose of this study is to measure the level of patients’ awareness of their rights. Subjects and methods This is a cross-sectional study conducted among patients living in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among Al-Ahsa patients using an online survey. The questionnaire was composed of socio-demographic variables (i.e., age, gender, education, etc.), sources of patient information regarding patients, means of increasing awareness toward patients' rights, and a 15-item questionnaire to measure the awareness about patient rights and responsibilities. Results Among the 295 patients, 59.7% were males and 39% were aged between 31 and 40 years old. The overall mean awareness score was 54.6 (SD 7.44). 53.2% of the patients were categorized as having moderate awareness levels, 44.1% were good and only 2.7% were categorized as having poor levels of awareness. Factors associated with increased awareness were being older, hospital admission, hospital visitation for the last three months, and healthcare providers as the sources of the patient's right information. Conclusion There was sufficient awareness of patient rights and responsibilities in our region. Increasing age, frequent hospital visitation, and education given by healthcare providers could effectively improve awareness of patient rights and responsibilities. A multicenter study is required to shed more light on the awareness of patients regarding their rights and responsibilities.