Coping with healthcare ethical issues in Cameroon

Abstract

Introduction: Most healthcare professionals (HCPs) face numerous ethical challenges while performing their tasks, regardless of clinical  ethics support structures (CESS) in many health facilities. There has been little research on CESS in Africa. This study sought to determine  how often Cameroonian HCPs in the Southwest Region (SWR) faced ethical issues, how many health institutions have CESS and whether  those with no CESS are willing to have one created.

Method: From December 2022 to June 2023, a cross-sectional study of 469 nurses and physicians working in the SWR was conducted.  Descriptive statistics and the chi-squared test were used. The threshold for statistical significance was p < 0.05.

Results: Of the 466  respondents who answered the question about encountering ethical issues, 177 said they encountered them once a month, whereas 217  reported encountering them weekly. Of the 464 responses to the questions about the CESS, 172 (37.1%) agreed that there was one in  their health facility. Where there was no CESS, 255 out of 292 respondents (87.3%) expressed their willingness for one to be established.  

Conclusions: SWR nurses and physicians regularly face ethical issues, and they are willing that CESS be established in their hospitals to  assist them in resolving complex ethical problems. The Ministry of Public Health is requested to support such initiatives.