BIO ETHICS AWARENESS AND COGNITIVE OPINION AMONG MEDICAL AND NON-MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS THROUGH BIG SCREEN FILMS: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A successful medical practice is possible only when the bioethical dilemmas are tackled properly by the clinicians which demands high level of knowledge and awareness regarding bioethics for both the doctors and the patients. One of the easiest and popular medium of creating the awareness is through cinemas and televisions.

AIM:  To access the level of bioethics awareness and cognitive opinion regarding the same among medical and non-medical professionals.

MATERIALS AND METHOD:  A total of 128 participants participated in the study via online questionnaire forms of which 49 were medical professionals and 79 were non – medical professionals. Permission and ethical clearance were obtained from the Department of Public Health Dentistry, SRM Dental College, Ramapuram, Chennai. A set of 18 closed ended questions along with the video clippings were used for the data collection. The responses obtained were recorded and tabulated. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software version 26.0 (SPSS Inc., Illinois, Chicago, USA) and Chi Square test was performed for descriptive analysis regarding Bioethics awareness and Cognitive opinion on bioethics.

RESULT:  Among the responses obtained, Medical Professionals were n=49 (38.28%) and Non – medical professionals were n=79 (61.71%).  77.7% of medical professionals and 55.2% of non-medical professionals were found to have more level of bioethics awareness and 62% of medical professionals and 51.6% of non-medical professionals had satisfactory cognitive opinion regarding the bioethics. The association between medical and non-medical professionals was done and p value <0.005 was considered to be statistically significant.

CONCLUSION: Bioethics and health care services must go hand in hand which is beneficial for both the healthcare workers and the public. From the plethora of methods and platforms available to teach bioethics in a practical way, Cinema also called the big screen films is an ideal tool and platform to educate public on bioethics awareness since it has really got greater impact on its viewers. This awareness becomes very crucial when it comes to patients gaining trust and confidence on their doctors and health care workers which is the back bone for every successful treatment.