A cross-sectional study of the practice of obtaining informed consent for elective surgery at the Kenyatta National Hospital

Abstract

Background An average of eight thousand five hundred elective surgeries are carried out annually at the Kenyatta National Hospital. Before any invasive procedure, an informed consent is obtained from the patient or the next of kin after pre-operative counselling has been carried out. This study aimed at determining whether patients were adequately informed on the key components of informed consent and establishing whether patients were satisfied with the process of obtaining informed consent for elective surgery at the Kenyatta National Hospital. Methodology The study was structured as a cross-sectional survey in which a questionnaire was used to collect data from randomly selected adult patients scheduled to undergo elective surgery. The questionnaire was administered by the principal investigator. Data was then be analyzed using SPSS Version 15. Results Majority of the patients were informed on the nature of surgery (97.2%)' the reason for surgery (98.2%) and the anaesthesia to be administered (76.7%). 89.4% of the patients were informed of the benefits of the surgical procedure while 53.7% of the patients were informed on the benefits of the anaesthesia to be administered. 78.8% of the patients were not informed on the possible complications of the scheduled elective procedure and 76.3% were not informed on any complications related to the anaesthesia. Only 8.8% of the patients interviewed were informed on alternatives to the proposed mode of treatment. Of these patients, 92.2% were not informed on any benefits and possible risks associated with the alternative modes of treatment. 83.4% of the patients were not informed on any alternative forms of anaesthesia. 59.4% of the patients understood the information provided during the pre-operative counselling and 78.4% of the patients interviewed felt satisfied with the current process of obtaining informed consent at the Kenyatta National Hospital. Conclusions The current practice of obtaining informed consent addressed certain aspects of informed consent such as nature and indication for surgery but patients were inadequately informed on complications related to surgery and anaesthesia, alternative forms of treatment and their risks and benefits. Despite the inadequacies, most patients felt satisfied with the current practice of informed consent at the Kenyatta National Hospital.