Comparing Perceived Dignity and Privacy in Patients Hospitalized in Internal and Surgical Wards of Ardabil Educational Medical Centers

The present study aimed to compare perceived dignity and privacy of patients admitted to internal and surgical wards of medical educational centers in Ardabil, Iran. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. Stratified random sampling was performed in the internal and surgical wards of hospitals affiliated to Ardabil medical educational centers (Imam Khomeini, Alavi and Fatemi). The study population included 279 patients admitted to the internal and surgical wards of the hospitals. The statistical sample was computed using the Cochran formula (n = 384). Patients' information was collected using three questionnaires including Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI), Patient Privacy Questionnaire and demographic questionnaire. The reliability of Patient Privacy Questionnaire (0.81) and Patient Dignity Inventory (0.87) was confirmed using Cronbach's alpha. The results showed that the patient’s perception of dignity is higher than the determined criterion and perceived dignity of patients in the surgical ward is at the level of the determined criterion. In addition, perceived privacy of patients is higher than the determined criterion; the perceived privacy of patients is higher than the determined criterion and perceived privacy of patients in internal wards is higher than the surgical wards. Further, Fatemi hospital, with a mean score of 60.67, was classified in one category, which has a significant difference (0.05) with two Alawi and Imam Khomeini hospitals in terms of patient’s perceived dignity. Furthermore, Fatemi Hospital, with an average privacy of 95.21%, was classified alone in one category, which has a significant difference at the level of 0.05 with both Alawi and Imam Khomeini hospitals in terms of patient’s perceived privacy. The results indicated that the improved dignity of the patients has led to increased level of their privacy