Impact on Teenagers of Completing a Questionnaire about Organ Donation and Transplantation

• Published in: Transplantation Vol. 102 Suppl 7S-1; no. Supplement 7; p. S813
• Main Authors: Febrero, Beatriz, Almela, Javier J, Ramírez, Pablo R, Ros, Inmaculada I, Pérez-Sánchez, Belén B, Ríos, Antonio A, Nicolás-López, Tatiana T, Parrilla, Pascual P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Copyright Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved 01-07-2018
• ISSN: 0041-1337; 1534-6080
• DOI: 10.1097/01.tp.0000543852.72621.53

INTRODUCTIONCompleting a questionnaire about organ donation and transplantation (ODT) could arouse interest in the respondents and have positive repercussions for the subject in question. It would be important to assess this aspect before introducing an educational initiative related to ODT. Another important point is that teenagers represent the future of the community and for that reason it is important to study their relationship with ODT. Objectiveto analyze the impact of completing an ODT questionnaire on attitude toward and knowledge of the subject among teenagers.
MATERIALS AND METHODSAll the students from the final year of Compulsory Secondary Education (mainly 15-16 year olds; n=280) were selected from four randomly selected secondary schools in southeastern Spain. A questionnaire was given out to them about ODT including questions about several psychosocial aspects. The survey was completed anonymously, but the students used a code. Four months later the same process was repeated with a second questionnaire. The questionnaires were matched according to the code that the student put on the questionnaire. Statistical analysisA descriptive analysis was carried out using contingency tables and the McNemar test.
RESULTSThe results in the first and second questionnaire werea favorable opinion toward donating one’s own organs66% in both questionnaires; a favorable attitude toward donating a family member’s organs45% in both questionnaires; attitude toward living donation70% in both questionnaires; commenting on the subject of ODT with family and/or friends41% vs. 43%; knowledge of the brain death concept48% vs. 43%; believing that there are enough organs available for transplantation17% vs. 22%; a respondentʼs belief that he or she may need a transplant in the future54% vs. 57%; a belief that the Catholic church is against organ donation8% vs. 11%; interest in carrying out an activity about ODT in class82% vs. 75%. No statistically significant differences were found (p>0.05).
CONCLUSIONCompleting a questionnaire about ODT per sé does not lead to an improvement in attitude to and knowledge about ODT in teenagers.