Last update:
   05-Dec-2022
 

Arch Hellen Med, 39(6),November-December 2022, 832-837

ORIGINAL PAPER

The impact of an educational program on organ and tissue donation addressed to students of the health professions

V. Stylianou,1 O. Konstantopoulou,2 D. Kaitelidou,2 A. Skitsou,3 G. Charalambous1,4
1Department of Nursing, Frederick University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus,
2Department of Nursing, Center for Health Services Management and Evaluation, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece,
3School of Health Science, Department of Health Management, Frederick University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus,
4"Ippokratio" General Hospital of Athens, Athens, Greece

OBJECTIVE To explore the knowledge and attitudes of students in the health professions, before and after the implementation of a short informational/educational program about organ and tissue donation, and the need for training and increased awareness regarding organ and tissue donation.

METHOD The study was conducted with 201 students of the health professions, who initially filled in the study questionnaire, then took part in the intervention (an educational video about organ donation), after which they completed the same questionnaire again. The questionnaire that was developed for the study included questions from valid structured instruments regarding the knowledge and attitudes of students about organ and tissue donation. Statistical analysis was conducted at the bi-variable and multivariate levels. Data analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS, version 20.0).

RESULTS A statistically significant increase in the overall score of knowledge about organ and tissue donation was demonstrated after the educational intervention (p<0.001). The score on positive attitudes about organ and tissue donation showed no increase after the intervention (p=0.623). Greater age was associated with higher scores on positive attitudes regarding organ and tissue donation (p<0.001). Before the intervention, more than 1/3 of the participants (38.8%) reported that they would like to register in the donor register of the country, with this percentage increasing significantly, to 49.5%, after the intervention session.

CONCLUSIONS Appropriate information and education on organ and tissue donation can improve the level of knowledge of students in the health professions, and their attitudes towards the institution.

Key words: Education, Health professions, Organ donation, Students.

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