Investigating the extent of compliance with patient rights by dental students from the perspective of patients referring to the Ilam Dental School Clinic in 2024

Introduction: Patient rights as an ethical principle include meeting the acceptable physical, psychological, spiritual and social needs of the patient, which are supported by the national laws and regulations of each country. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the extent of compliance with patient rights by dental students from the perspective of patients Ilam Dental School Clinic in 2024. Materials & Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional-descriptive study that was conducted on 92 patients referred to the clinic of Ilam Dental School using convenience sampling. The study tools included a demographic checklist and a questionnaire on patient rights compliance by students. Statistical test included Chi-square, which were analyzed in SPSS version 26 at a significance level of 5%. Results: The mean and standard deviation of the patients' perspective on compliance with patient rights of the participants was 53.86 ± 10.10. There was no significant relationship between age, gender, place of residence, marital status, and underlying diseases with patients' views of dental students' observance of patient rights, but there was a significant relationship between education level and previous visit to dentistry and patients' views of dental students' observance of patient rights (P<0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that patients consider the level of dental students' observance of their rights to be average. It is recommended that educational and medical authorities update and enhance their actions and programs in order to promote respect for patient rights and conduct research aimed at expanding infrastructure and medical services related to professional ethics.