BACKGROUND: The Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education published a 'Patient's Bill of Rights' in 2001. AIM: To gain insight into the perception and practice of patients' rights in Iran. This paper reports on Iranian nurses' and physicians' perceptions and lived experiences of respecting patients' rights. METHODS: A purposeful sample of eight nurses and five physicians working in a central teaching hospital in Tehran were interviewed during 2005-2006 for a qualitative study. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. FINDINGS: The emerging themes were categorized as 'barriers to patients' rights practice' and 'facilitators of patients' rights practice'. Under these themes three subgroups were discussed: awareness, resources and accountability. CONCLUSION: Healthcare professionals' lived experiences are an important source of data if managers and policy makers are to make changes and legislate for protecting and promoting patients' rights.
BACKGROUND: The Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education published a 'Patient's Bill of Rights' in 2001. AIM: To gain insight into the perception and practice of patients' rights in Iran. This paper reports on Iranian nurses' and physicians' perceptions and lived experiences of respecting patients' rights. METHODS: A purposeful sample of eight nurses and five physicians working in a central teaching hospital in Tehran were interviewed during 2005-2006 for a qualitative study. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. FINDINGS: The emerging themes were categorized as 'barriers to patients' rights practice' and 'facilitators of patients' rights practice'. Under these themes three subgroups were discussed: awareness, resources and accountability. CONCLUSION: Healthcare professionals' lived experiences are an important source of data if managers and policy makers are to make changes and legislate for protecting and promoting patients' rights.