https://publish.kne-publishing.com/index.php/IJME <p><em>Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine</em>&nbsp;has been published since 2008. This journal is an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal devoted to the ethical issues of medicine, public health, healthcare and history of medicine. The papers of this peer reviewed journal are published continuously online in Persian with English abstracts.</p> <p><strong data-stringify-type="bold">All the manuscripts should be submitted through the Journal Primary Website at:</strong></p> <p><a href="https://ijme.tums.ac.ir/form_send_article.php?&amp;slct_pg_id=22&amp;sid=1&amp;slc_lang=en"><strong data-stringify-type="bold">https://ijme.tums.ac.ir/form_send_article.php?&amp;slct_pg_id=22&amp;sid=1&amp;slc_lang=en</strong></a></p> Tehran University of Medical Sciences en-US Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine 2783-4840 https://publish.kne-publishing.com/index.php/IJME/article/view/19657 <p>Patients’ perceptions of healthcare service quality and satisfaction with their legal rights constitute the primary objective of the care team and should be considered a criterion for accreditation evaluation. In this regard, a thorough examination of healthcare providers’ and patients’ perceptions, emotions, and experiences regarding the reasons for&nbsp;<em>‘Discharge</em> <em>Against Medical Advice</em>’—as a patient’s legal right—can help identify hidden factors influenced by temporal and spatial conditions. This qualitative study employed a conventional content analysis approach, involving semi-structured interviews with 24&nbsp; healthcare providers and patients selected purposively. Researchers repeatedly reviewed recorded content and notes to code the data. Subsequently, key codes and themes were clustered, categorized into specific topics, and labeled. Finally, an interpretation of the obtained data reflecting the study’s approach was presented. Through conventional content analysis, 203 codes were extracted. After categorization, four subthemes, including <em>human factors</em>, <em>processes</em>, <em>facilities</em>, and&nbsp;<em>environment</em>, were identified under the core theme of&nbsp;“<em>uncertainty and distrust</em>”&nbsp;as reasons for discharge against medical advice. Discharge against medical advice is recognized as both a challenge for hospital accreditation and an adverse outcome for patients. Addressing uncertainty-related issues and fostering public trust through team collaboration and implementing novel policies can mitigate discharge against medical advice.</p> Hossein Motaarefi Shahriar Sakhaei Amin Soheili Hassan Ebrahimpour Sadagheyani Copyright (c) 2025 Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine 2025-09-15 2025-09-15 10.18502/ijme.v18i12.19657