Patient rights, decision-making, and quality of nursing care

Fátima Estrada-Reyes, Licenciatura en Enfermería, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Zaragoza, Ciudad de México, México
Gerardo L. Flores-Miranda, Licenciatura en Enfermería, Facultad de Enfermería y Obstetricia. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
Edwin Flores-Cervantes, Licenciatura en Enfermería, Facultad de Enfermería y Obstetricia. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
Joali Y. Galicia-Viadas, Licenciatura en Enfermería, Facultad de Enfermería y Obstetricia. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
Lizeth G. López-López, Departamento de Educación Continua, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Secretaría de Salud, Ciudad de México, México

When patients are unaware of their rights, their ability to actively participate in decisions about their own health becomes profoundly limited. This narrative review examines knowledge of patient rights and its relationship with shared decision-making and the quality of nursing care. Although in Mexico the General Charter of Patients’ Rights, issued by the National Commission for Medical Arbitration, establishes principles for informed and person-centered care, significant gaps persist between what the regulatory framework recognizes and what actually occurs in the everyday practice of health services.

Keywords: Patient rights. Decision making. Quality of health care. Nursing. Informed consent. Patient autonomy.