Knowledge and Practice Gaps in Healthcare Ethics: A Comparative Study of Two Ghanaian Hospitals

Background: Maintaining patient trust, providing quality care, and safeguarding patients’ rights and safety all require adherence to ethical principles. This study assessed the differential factors influencing healthcare ethics (HCE) knowledge and practice among healthcare professionals in two Ghanaian hospitals.

Methods: An analytical cross-sectional design was employed in this study, involving 382 healthcare professionals from two health facilities. Data were collected through structured questionnaires that assessed their knowledge and practices of healthcare ethics. Bivariate analysis was conducted using Chi-square tests and T-tests, while Random Forest analysis was applied to identify variables of relative importance to healthcare ethics (HCE) practice.  

Results: The results revealed no significant differences in HCE knowledge or practices between the two facilities (p > 0.05). The mean scores for HCE knowledge and practice were 26.3 (SD = 2.83) and 23.5 (SD = 2.94), respectively, across both facilities. Age, knowledge, education, and facility type were the most relevant factors overall. For Facility A, age, knowledge, and gender were particularly influential, while for Facility B, knowledge, education, and gender had a more substantial impact.

Conclusion: Facility-specific ethics training programs are essential for bridging the gap between knowledge and practice in healthcare ethics. Incorporating ethics education into ongoing professional development programs is crucial to enhancing ethical decision-making skills among healthcare professionals.