The Relationship Between Awareness of and Respect for the Rights of the Patients With Mental Disorders From the Perspective of Nurses

Background: Because of the nature of their disease, patients with mental disorder are more at risk and usually fail to recognize their natural rights in comparison to other patients.. Objectives: The present study aims to determine the relationship between nursesʹ awareness of the rights of patients with mental disorder and the respect for the rights from nursesʹ perspective.. Patients and Methods: This research is a cross-sectional study whose participants were 43 nurses working in psychiatric wards of hospitals in Ahvaz. We used questionnaires to collect data that was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient test.. Results: Awareness of the majority of nurses about the rights of the patients with mental disorder and respect for their rights from their perspective were at a good level. Using Pearson correlation coefficient test, a statistically significant correlation was found between the level of awareness of and the respect for their rights from the perspective of nurses (P ? 0.002).. Conclusions: This study clearly showed a significant correlation between awareness of and respect for the rights of patients with mental disorder from the nursesʹ perspective. Also, considering the specific condition of these patients and psychiatric wards, relevant authorities should take further measures to increase awareness of the healthcare staff regarding the rights of these and subsequently increase its compliance so that we witness the practical and real respect for patientsʹ rights by medical staff.. Keywords: Patient Rights; Nurses; Awareness; Iran.