Correlations between demographics, knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes regarding organ transplantation among academic students in Poland and their potential use in designing society-wide educational campaigns.

BACKGROUND

Family objection precludes 10% of cadaveric donations in Poland. Academic students represent a socially influential demographic group. Educational campaigns improving their attitudes may increase overall donation rates. The aim of this study was to assess correlations between knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes regarding organ transplantation and the identification of the most critical factors affecting one's donation preferences.

METHODS

Eight hundred students from 4 public universities in Krakow, Poland, participated in the study; participants were diverse in age, sex, hometown population, and academic discipline (400 medical, 400 non-medical). This cross-sectional study was conducted with the use of a group-administered questionnaire inquiring into demographics, general and professional knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes toward organ transplantation.

RESULTS

Attitudes toward organ donation correlate positively with beliefs (ρ = 0.36), general knowledge (ρ = 0.48), and professional knowledge (ρ = 0.23) scores. Beliefs were proven to correlate with general (ρ = 0.21) and professional (ρ = 0.26) knowledge as well. Misconceptions about the medical criteria allowing cadaveric organ recovery, distrust for brain death reliability, fear of "do not resuscitate" approach toward Organ Donor Card holders, a strong belief in organ trafficking, and unawareness of family members' attitudes are the most important factors influencing one's refusal/uncertainty to donate.

CONCLUSIONS

Knowledge, attitudes, and refusal rates differ, depending on the academic discipline as well as other demographics, indicating a need for a specifically targeted approach in designing educational campaigns. Sources of knowledge are related to donation rates, with pre-academic education evaluated as unfavorable, as opposed to healthcare providers and the media.