Factors Associated with the Utilization of Clinical Ethics Consultation Services: A View from Saudi Arabia
Saturday, October 14, 2023
7:30 AM – 8:45 AM ET
Location: Galena (Fourth Floor)
Hospital-based clinical ethics consultation (CEC) services aim to improve patient care by identifying, analyzing, and resolving ethical problems. The processes and benefits of CEC have been greatly explored in the Western context. However, little is known about CEC In Saudi Arabia. This is unsurprising; Saudi bioethics remains largely underdeveloped with little training, education, or scholarship.
This paper aims to understand the factors that influence Saudi practitioners’ willingness to request formal CEC services. Bioethical and religious values are often intertwined in the strongly observant Saudi community, making the role of CEC especially interesting. This is the first study of its kind in Saudi Arabia and addresses an important gap in Saudi bioethical knowledge. Through a survey approach, this study took place over several months at multiple major medical centers. Responses show that individual religiosity, formal bioethics training, and significant clinical practice abroad were among the factors associated with CEC utilization. Notably, the utilization of a religiosity measure proved problematic from an administrative standpoint, and was met with some disapproval, something that this paper will also address. It is hoped that findings from this study contribute to the improved utilization and growth of CEC in the country through better understanding of the factors and values that influence CEC requests.