Attitudes of the Third-Year Nursing Students Toward Organ Donation: Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND

Health professionals can affect attitudes toward organ donation in society; therefore, priority should be given to exploration of attitudes of nursing students as important prospective members of the health profession. The goal of this study was to assess nursing students' attitudes and volunteerism toward organ donation.

METHODS

This descriptive study was performed on 240 third-year nursing students in Turkey between February 2016 and April 2016. Purposive sampling and a cross-sectional survey were used. Data were collected by using the Organ Donation Attitudes Scale, a valid and reliable instrument for determining attitudes toward organ donation in Turkey. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, and ratio), and correlation analyses were used.

RESULTS

The mean age of the students, more than one half of whom were female (84.83%), was 21.63 ± 1.19 years. The students achieved mean scores of 105.84 ± 12.61 and 45.91 ± 15.74 for positive and negative items, respectively, on the Organ Donation Attitudes Scale. The positive items focus on humanity and moral conviction, and the negative items focus on fears of medical neglect and fears of bodily mutilation. The mean scores for humanity and moral conviction, fears of medical neglect, and fears of bodily mutilation were 105.84 ± 12.61, 22.58 ± 9.25, and 23.32 ± 8.66.

CONCLUSIONS

The students displayed positive attitudes toward organ donation and volunteerism. They may have humanitarian and charitable feelings about organ donation but hesitate to commit because of their fear of bodily mutilation and fears of medical neglect.