Ethical considerations about informed consent in physiotherapy in Romania.

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Physiotherapy Practice
• Patient Communication

Background:

• Physiotherapy involves unique patient-therapist communication dynamics.
• Romanian practice often involves initial general consent with a rehabilitation doctor.
• Obtaining specific informed consent (IC) at physiotherapy onset presents unique challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the frequency and use of informed consent (IC) at physiotherapy onset among Romanian physiotherapists.
• To identify factors influencing the practice of obtaining IC.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional online survey was distributed to 148 Romanian physiotherapists.
• The survey included 37 Likert-scale closed items and 2 open-ended questions.
• Data analysis involved descriptive statistics and multiple regression.

Main Results:

• Only 40.82% of physiotherapists always sought informed consent (IC) at physiotherapy onset.
• 16.3% reported never obtaining IC.
• Professional skills, ethical knowledge, and ethical reasoning positively correlated with increased IC frequency.

Conclusions:

• Ethical knowledge, moral reasoning, and patient consideration positively influence IC awareness.
• The process of obtaining IC in Romanian physiotherapy requires improvement.
• Further research is needed to enhance physiotherapists' awareness and practices regarding IC.