Knowledge and attitude towards handling medical-legal records among nurses

Abstract

Knowledge and attitude are essential for the proper handling of medico-legal records. A healthcare professional with a good understanding of the law and the proper procedures for documenting and preserving records will be better equipped to protect themselves and their patients in the event of a legal dispute. A positive attitude towards medico-legal records will also help to ensure that they are handled in a timely and accurate manner. The study aims to assess the knowledge and attitude towards handling medical-legal records among nurses. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 150 nurses from various government hospitals in South India. Convenient sampling was used to select the participants. A sociodemographic scale, knowledge questionnaires, and a Likert scale were used to collect data. Data was coded in Excel and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 26. The results of the study indicate that a significant portion of the nurses had average knowledge (64%) and a considerable number had poor knowledge (36%) regarding the handling of medical-legal records. None of the participants showed a good level of knowledge. In terms of attitude, 68% of the nurses displayed a moderate attitude, 26% had a low attitude, and only 6% exhibited a high level of attitude towards the subject. The study found that nurses had average knowledge and moderate attitude towards handling medico-legal records. However, there were gaps in knowledge and low attitude, which highlights the need for interventions and educational programs.