Korean J Med Ethics.  2012 Aug;15(2):231-243.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Will for Organ Donation of Nursing Students and Non-nursing Students toward the Brain Death Organ Donation

• KIM M
• JOO SJ
• CHOI JH
• KIM KS
• YOO M
• KIM HJ

Abstract

This study investigated knowledge, attitude, and will for brain death organ donation (BDOD) of college students, and identified influencing factors on knowledge, attitude and will using structured questionnaire. The subjects of the research were 108 nursing students and 78 non-nursing students at N university. The data was analyzed with static analysis, t-test, χ2-test, ANOVA, pearson correlation coefficient,and Logistic regression. The mean score of knowledge toward BDOD of nursing students was 11.05 and non-nursing students scored 8.10 on average. The mean score of attitude toward BDOD of the nursing students was 3.39 and that of the non-nursing students was 3.28. There was a significant difference in knowledge according to sex, religion in nursing students. There was a significant difference in attitude according to the experience of blood donation in nursing students, and perceived health status in non-nursing students. For nursing students, there was a significant difference in the will for organ donation between students who have considered about organ donation and those who have not. There was a significant relation between the attitude and the knowledge of BDOD. However, in non-nursing students, attitude toward BDOD was not correlated with knowledge. Nursing students as future health professionals were aware of the roles and responsibilities of nurses to augment organ donation. Although nursing students scored higher in knowledge and attitude about BDOD than non-nursing students,more specifically structured education programs are needed. To promote BDOD, relevant policies and effective campaigns need to be developed.

Keyword

brain death organ donation; knowledge; attitude; nursing students