Development and validation of an instrument to measure physician awareness of bioethics and medical law in Oman

Abstract Background A different ethos with respect to the perception of medical ethics prevails in societies transition such as those Arabian Peninsula, which makes it difficult apply international principles bioethics practice. This study aimed develop and psychometrically test an instrument that measures physicians’ awareness law their attitudes towards practice ethics. Additionally, examined physician correlates influencing bioethics. Methods Following a rigorous review relevant literature by panel experts, 13-item instrument, Omani (OBMLA) questionnaire was developed aim assessing law. The tool’s construct validity internal consistency reliability were exploratory factor analysis (EFA) Cronbach’s alpha. In cross-sectional study, distributed among random sample 200 physicians at tertiary hospital Muscat, Oman. Participant characteristics may influence explored. Results EFA OBMLA resulted three well-loading factors: (1) Physicians’ subscale (2) incentive related (3) subscale. Internal ranged between α: 0.73–0.8. Of total participants, 52% reported teaching during school inadequate. overall mean (standard deviation, SD) score 27.6 (3.5) 10.1 (2.1) respectively. majority (73%) they frequently encountered ethical dilemmas 24.5% endorsed view unethical decisions tended occur Conclusion provides insight into bioethics, appears be valid reliable tool assess physician’s this preliminary participants have suboptimal scores on indices measure