Aim: to determine the level of awareness of patients' rights among midwives and nurses working in the third and fourth largest cities in Turkey.
Methods: cross-sectional descriptive survey conducted among participants working in university hospitals, state hospitals and village clinics. Questionnaires were distributed to 150 midwives and 350 nurses working in university hospitals (n = 200), state hospitals (n = 100) and village clinics (n = 100); 60% (n = 298) of the forms were returned.
Findings: fifty-one per cent (n = 152) of midwives and nurses stated that they had not read any legislation related to patients' rights. Seventy-five per cent (n = 222) of respondents were aware of the legal arrangements. Only 34% (n = 74) of participants who knew of any legal basis for patients' rights said that legislation was in the form of a directive. No significant differences were observed in midwives' answers compared with nurses' answers.
Conclusion: violation of patients' rights and health professionals' ignorance of appropriate practice means that there is an urgent need to reconsider how to approach this issue. It should be included in continuing education programmes at both graduate and postgraduate midwifery and nursing schools, and also demands more research.