Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Medical Ethics Among Undergraduate Medical Students at the Defence Services Medical Academy, Myanmar

Background: Medical ethics education is central to professional formation and safe, patient-centered care. Evaluating students’ knowledge and attitudes can identify curricular strengths and areas requiring reinforcement, particularly during implementation of an outcome-based integrated curriculum. Objective: To assess knowledge and attitudes towards medical ethics among undergraduate medical students at the Defence Services Medical Academy (DSMA), Yangon, Myanmar. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from June to July 2025. A non-probability consecutive sample of 175 undergraduate medical students completed a pre-tested, structured, self-administered questionnaire adapted from a previously published instrument. Thirteen true/false items assessed knowledge and 13 five-point Likert items assessed attitudes. Results were summarized using frequencies and percentages. Results: Participants were predominantly male (161/175, 92.0%), and 104 (59.4%) were aged 18-20 years. Correct responses across knowledge items ranged from 73.7% to 99.4%. The strongest results concerned basic ethical principles and physicians’ duties to patients (both 99.4%); comparatively weaker areas included cultural sensitivity (73.7%), privacy (78.3%), autonomous decision-making (80.0%), and consent for treating children outside emergencies (80.0%). Attitudes were generally favorable towards professional conduct, collegial ethics, ethics committees, and ethics education. However, only 53.1% rejected an explicitly paternalistic statement, and 45.7% rejected the view that ethical conduct matters only to avoid legal action. Conclusion: DSMA students demonstrated strong item-level knowledge and generally favorable attitudes, but important uncertainty persisted around autonomy, privacy, cultural sensitivity, consent, and the distinction between ethical and legal duties. Longitudinal, case-based, clinically integrated ethics teaching is recommended.