TY  - BOOK
AU  - Daniel Isore Wambura 
AU  -     Namanya Basinda 
AU  -     Halima Mwaisungu
TI  - Functioning of Hospital/Clinical Ethics Committee among Private and Public Hospitals in Mwanza -Tanzania
PY  - 2023///
CY  - Mwanza, Tanzania: 
PB  - Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences [CUHAS – Bugando]
KW  -  
N2  - Abstract:

Background: Hospital ethics committees (HECs) are a vital component within healthcare facilities, aiding clinicians in addressing ethical predicaments that arise during the provision of active medical care. Literature reviews provide evidence that the functions and challenges of research ethics committees (RECs) are well-documented, encompassing the protection of human subjects participating in research and the facilitation of ethically sound investigations. Conversely, the functions of hospital ethics committees (HECs), such as the examining, deliberation, analysis, action on, and reporting of ethical issues that arise in patient care, are comparatively obscure, leading to uncertainty regarding the existence of formally established HECs. Consequently, this cross-sectional study investigated whether these hospitals have formal HECs and the types of ethical dilemmas encountered in selected hospitals located in Mwanza, Tanzania, as well as the operational efficacy of HECs.

Methodology: The study participants involved were healthcare providers including doctors, nurses and pharmacists where in-depth one to one interviews were conducted. Data transcribed verbatim, and content analysis was done by using NVivo 14 Computers Software.

Results: The findings highlight hospital ethics committee are not formally established besides there being general consensus of their existence among health care providers. Furthermore, these findings give an account of frequent ethical dilemmas and challenges encountered in course of actively providing health services and its noted in this study that clinical ethics committee are functioning without formal establishment, rendering them failure to harness the potential of improving quality of healthcare.

 Conclusion: While there may be challenges and considerations in establishing formal hospital ethics committees, their importance in promoting ethical healthcare practices cannot be overlooked. By providing guidance, consultation, and oversight, these committees can contribute to the overall improvement of healthcare quality and patient outcomes. In addition, there is a pressing need for HECs- “we need one for sure especially here ICU” (P2_ID0002June)


ER  -