Experience of the informed consent during elective caesarian delivery at Selected Public Hospital in Addis Ababa Ethiopia
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Date
2025-06-11
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Background: Informed consent is a fundamental ethical and legal principle that ensures patients can make informed decisions about their healthcare. It requires healthcare providers to clearly communicate the risks, benefits, complications, and alternatives of medical procedures, enabling voluntary and informed patient approval.
Objective: To explore the experience of informed consent during elective cesarean delivery from the perspectives of healthcare providers and postpartum women in selected public hospitals in Addis Ababa, from February to March 2025.
Methods: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Teaching Hospital, St. Paul Hospital, and Ras Desta Demtow Memorial Hospital. Purposive sampling was used to select 12 healthcare providers and 15 postpartum women. Data were collected through in-depth interviews. Coding was carried out using both inductive and deductive approaches. Thematic analysis was used to identify patterns, supported by ATLAS.ti 9 for data organization.
Results: The study revealed gaps in informed consent practices for elective cesarean delivery. From healthcare providers’ perspectives, three main themes emerged: experience of informed consent, challenges in obtaining consent, and suggestions for improvement. From postpartum women’s perspectives, themes included their experience of informed consent, communication with providers, and perception of autonomy and decision-making. While providers claimed to inform patients, they often did not fully explain the consent form. Most women reported receiving limited information focused mainly on the indication for surgery.
Conclusion: The informed consent process for elective cesarean delivery was improperly practiced. Improving provider communication, enhancing training, digitalizing the consent process, redesign consent form and empowering women about their rights are essential to achieving ethical, patient-centered care.
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Keywords
Informed consent, Cesarean section, Patient experience, Healthcare provider.