@conference{
author = "Krajnović, Dušanka and Milošević-Georgiev, Andrijana and Crnjanski, Tatjana and Matović, Ljiljana",
year = "2023",
abstract = "Background. Ethical issues are closely related to everyday work at community pharmacies and pharmacists
are often in the situations to decide between more procedures with consequential impact on the rights and ben-
efit of other people. The education they receive at undergraduate study might be insufficient for ethical deci-
sion-making on complex situations in clinical practice. Ethical values make a substantial part in any discussion
on ethics and ethical behaviour, but teaching about moral values are not mandatory for any healthcare profes-
sionals in Serbia, pharmacists as well, neither at graduate nor postgraduate levels and continuing professional
development. Conducting empirical research from pharmacy ethics could help educators and practitioners to
develop and implement those topics into curricula and improve the educational outcomes in the field of phar-
macy ethics. This could lead to tailor-based educational model that might empower community pharmacists
to more significantly resolve situations regarding conscientious objection and ensure better understanding of
reasons behind their behaviour, when delivering pharmaceutical care.
Aim/purpose. This study aimed to assess the perception of pharmacists regarding the situations that raised
ethical issues of conscientious objection and their concerns related to compromising ethical values while car-
ing for patients’ healthcare needs at community-based settings.
Empirical methods and/or theoretical perspective. The research presented is only a part of a broader re-
search work conducted in Serbia on community pharmacists’ values and ethical dilemmas faced by them.
A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among 153 community pharmacists from the northern
region of Serbia. The survey instrument had been developed and validated originally (Crnjanski et al., 2016)
as a 16-items self-administered survey instrument with proposed ethical situations – EISP scale (Ethical Issue
Scale for Community Pharmacy Setting).
Results, outcomes and implications. Participants were predominantly female (75.20%) with an average age
of 34.48±9.05 years. Every tenth respondent had completed post-graduate education. The largest proportion of
pharmacists (61.4%) faced ethical dilemmas in everyday work. Nearly all (90.20%) believed that pharmacists
should have the right to file a conscientious objection when they are unable to provide services to a patient
due to moral reasons. More than half of pharmacists (60.58%) stated that they had never compromised their
ethical values. A vast majority (71%) would never do it, under any circumstances, and slight minority of them
(13%) would compromise it for their own well-being. Pharmacists expressed the greatest concern that when
compromising ethical values, they could harm the patients (56.2%) and could call their competence into ques-
tion (26.8%). The least important were warries to potential legal problems (12.4%) and disclosure of actions
by superiors (4.6%).
Conclusions. In conclusion, community pharmacists in Serbia are confronted with numerous ethical problems
when they might reasonably decide to compromise ethical values. Most of the pharmacists face the ethical
dilemma situations when they are unable to provide services due to conscientious objection or collision with
their values. It is observed that they would compromise their values rarely and not only because of employers’
request or their own interests, but also because of the patient’s interests and moral duty to care. A value-based
education for pharmacists could help them and empower them in resolving ethical problems in practice.",
publisher = "Croatian Bioethics Society",
journal = "11th International Conference on Ethics Education. Ethics education, Interdisciplinarity and Pluriperspectivism, June 15-17 2023, Croatia",
title = "The attitudes of community pharmacists towards compromising their ethical values and conscientious objection",
pages = "72-72",
url = "https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_farfar_4867"
}
