The Relationship Between Moral Sensitivities and Ethical Decisions of Dentistry Faculty Students

Aim: This study examines dental faculty students' ethical sensitivity and attitudes toward ethical decision-making in healthcare. Despite frequent ethical dilemmas among dentists, there's limited research on dental students' experiences. This study aims to fill this gap by assessing dental students’ ethical sensitivity. Methods: Conducted between June and July 2021 with 436 voluntary participants from 1st to 5th grade students at a Faculty of Dentistry. Data were collected using a sociodemographic form and "Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire" (MSQ), 30-item tool with six sub-dimensions: autonomy, benefit, holistic approach, conflict, implementation, and orientation. Reliability analysis used Cronbach's Alpha, statistical analyses were performed. Results: Study found that 61.9% of participants were women, with an average age of 21.64 years. The overall reliability value of the MSQ scale was 0.920. The highest agreement among survey items was with "I often experience contradictions about how to approach the patient" (4.49±1.69). Significant differences were found in autonomy and application sub-dimensions based on students' grade levels (p=0.002). There was no significant gender difference in moral sensitivity (p>0.05), and no significant correlation was found between age and moral sensitivity. Conclusion: Findings highlight the importance of developing and protecting dental students' moral and ethical sensitivities for their professional success and public health. They underscore the need for enhanced ethics education in dental curricula and stronger hospital ethics committees to support healthcare professionals in ethical decision-making. This research offers valuable insights into the ethical challenges faced by dental students and emphasizes the necessity for further studies in this area.