title: Autonomy and confidentiality: patients' perspectives.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about patients' opinions about their rights in autonomy and confidentiality concerning their illness and this study was conducted to assess it.
  
  
  METHODS
  This multi-centred, cross-sectional study was conducted in outpatient clinics in Khartoum, Sudan. It was delivered to 295 respondents. Data were managed using Microsoft Excel 2010 and SPSS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighty-five percent of the patients wanted to know about their conditions, of whom 17% wanted to choose their treatment and 29% believed they had the right to refuse treatment. Most of the respondents would not wish to hide information from their doctors. There was a wide variation at the rate of patients hiding information from their relatives, depending on their diagnosis (HIV 90%, malignancy 16.7% and tuberculosis 0%.)
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Respondents want to choose their treating doctor, know about their diseases, be consulted before a procedure. They would like to leave technical issues to their treating doctors without jeopardising their own rights.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.
authors.forename: Ihab Babiker
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Abdalrahman
authors.affiliation: Fifth-year medical student, Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan amdkady@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ahmed Mohammed Abdulrahman
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Osman
authors.affiliation: Fifth-year medical student, Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.
authors.forename: Baraah Mohammed Adham
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: Fifth-year medical student, Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.
authors.forename: El Imam ElGhazali Seddik Mohamed
authors.initials: el IE
authors.lastname: Mustafa
authors.affiliation: Fifth-year medical student, Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.
authors.forename: Eman Esam Hassan
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: Fifth-year medical student, Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.
authors.forename: Mohamed Siddig Eltayeb
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Muneer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003219:Confidentiality; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057240:Patient Preference / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D013397:Sudan; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Autonomy; confidentiality; paternalism; privacy