engleski

Snapshots from the first educational workshop for the ethics committees in Croatia

Education is an important part of work of ethics committees. Ethics committees in Croatia are relatively new phenomenon. In 2003 the National Bioethics Committee for Medicine of the Government of the Republic of Croatia held the first workshop for the members of mainly hospital ethics committees in Croatia. We studied knowledge and attitudes od participants form hospital ethics committees before and after the workshop. We also got some insight into the everyday work and functioning of hospital ethics committees. A specially developed questionnaire was used in this survey which was analysed. Majority of the committees had 5 members 3 of whom were physicians and 2 came from other fields. Theologians, hospital lawyers and nurses were also likely candidates for membership in an ethics committee while philosophers, outside hospital staff and patients' representatives were not. The main task of ethics committees in hospital was also reserach protocol analysis. Ethical case analysis was also practiced. However, teh education was confirmed as an ethics committee's function in 12 cases, as well as the policy-making ( 11cases). Majority of the committees were founded after the implementation on the Law on the helath protection in1997 and basically the membership member stuctutre( 3 physicians+ 2 form other fields) and functions were copied. Cimmittyy members form the educational workshop were also happy about their position as a member in the committee and the efficiency of the committees' work. However, they were less satisfied with committees infulence on the hospital's decision- making parctices and the overall work of their commmittees. members of the ethics committees in our survey were very confident about the level of their knowledge and their level of competency. level of knowledge before and after the workshop was less than astisfactory esepcially about the issues like informed- consent, reserch ethics, transplantation and legal provisions in Croatia nad the world. It improved to some extent after the workshop. Teh attitudes of members of ethics committees in our survey seemed resistant to infulence and idi not cahneg much after the educational workshop.

education; ethics committtees; Croatia

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